#where everybody says what percentage of european they are

[headspace-hotel]

The USAmerican imagination cannot consider land that is multi-purpose.

A corn field is Corn, an endless monoculture, and all other plants must be eliminated. A residential area is Houses, and absolutely MUST NOT!!! have vegetables or fruits or native plant gardens or small livestock. A drainage ditch is only a drainage ditch, and cannot harbor Sedges and native wetland plants, A sports field is for A Sport, and let no one think of doing any other event on that field, shops and storefronts must have their own special part of town that everybody has to drive to, which requires parking lots...and God forbid we put solar panels on roofs or above parking lots or anywhere they can serve an extra purpose of providing shade, instead of using a large tract of perfectly fine land as a "solar farm."

Numerous examples. But it is the most annoying with agriculture. The people who crunch all the numbers about sustainability, have calculated that a certain percentage of Earth's land is "Used up" by agriculture, which is troubling because that leaves less "room" for "Wilderness." It is a big challenge, they say, to feed Earth's humans without destroying more ecosystems.

Fools! Agriculture is an ecosystem—if you respect the ways of the plants, instead of creating monoculture fields by killing everything that moves and almost everything that doesn't. Most humans throughout history, and many humans today, sustain themselves using a mixture of foraging and agriculture, and the two are not entirely different things, because all human lifestyles change the ecosystem, and the inhabitants of the ecosystem always change themselves in response.

Even if you are a hunter-gatherer that steps very lightly in the forest and gathers a few berries and leaves here and there, you are being an animal and affecting all other parts of the ecosystem. By walking, breathing, eating, pooping, drinking, climbing, singing, talking, all of those things affect the ecosystem. If you gather leaves to sleep on, that affects the ecosystem...if you pile up waste, that affects the ecosystem...if you break a tree branch, that affects the ecosystem...if you start a fire, if you create a small shelter, if you cut a path, that DEFINITELY affects the ecosystem.

This idea, that human activity destroys the ecosystem and replaces it with something Else, something Not an ecosystem, is so silly. "But you just said that even the earliest most technologically simple human societies altered their environment!"

Yes, I did. Because we believe that "pre-agricultural" humans could have no effect on their "wilderness" environment, we ALSO believe another false idea: That when humans affect an environment, they destroy "Wilderness" and change it to something else, like Agricultural Land, that can never have biodiversity and never benefit many life forms.

I think it is the European idea of agriculture that it always involves people settling down and relying on a few special plants that are domesticated intentionally and grown in specially dedicated fields. After all, this idea of an agricultural lifestyle, is in contrast with the "hunter-gatherer" lifestyle, which is assumed to be what humans do before they "figure out" agriculture. The European mind imagines "pre-agricultural" folks ignorantly bumbling about, thinking plants and animals conveniently pop out of nothing for their benefit.

Bullshit! I shake my head in disappointment when I see websites describing Native Americans using wild plants as if those plants just-so-happened to grow, when those same wild plants just-so-happen to thrive only in environments disturbed by humans in some way, and just-so-happen to have declined steeply since colonization, and just-so-happen to be nonexistent in unspoiled "Wilderness" locations, and (often) just-so-happen to have an incredibly wide range where they either once were or are incredibly common, making it very...fortunate that they just-so-happen to have a wide range of uses including food, medicines, and materials for clothing and technology.

Accidentally of course, without any human impact from the humans that were impacting everything. /s

"But if it wasn't an accident, how did it happen?" Here is how to understand this idea: Look at the weeds! The weeds will teach you.

Look at the plants you always see growing without being planted around human buildings and roads, and learn their history. Often you will learn that these plants have many marvelous properties, and have actually been used by humans for thousands of years.

In fact, some of the most powerful and difficult to control weeds, were once actually some of the most essential and important plants for human civilizations to depend on. The dreaded Kudzu, in its home in East Asia, was one of the main plants used for clothing for over 6,000 years, and not only that, it has been cultivated for food and medicine for millennia. You can make everything from paper to noodles out of Kudzu! And Amaranth, the most expensive agricultural weed in all the USA, produces edible and healthy grains as well as several harvests of greens per growing season, and several species of the genus have been fully domesticated and formed a staple crop of Mesoamerica.

Meanwhile...some people have come up with this neat "new" idea called Polyculture, which is where you plant a field with two crops at once and somehow get better yields from both of them. WITCHCRAFT! Unrelatedly, there are other ideas like "Cover Crops" and "Agroforestry" that for some reason have the same beneficial effect.

Wow...It turns out, sterilizing the whole environment of every plant except one crop...isn't actually a good way to do agriculture in many places in the world.

Just think about it from an energy point of view...

We have some places used for "Agriculture," where we wring the land as violently as possible to squeeze green vegetation from light energy.

And we have other places for Other uses, where we spend massive amounts of fossil fuels mowing, chopping, poisoning and trimming to STOP the land from producing its incredible bounty of green vegetation.

And in the agricultural fields, we spend even MORE resources killing the unwanted plants that grow spontaneously

This system is hemorrhaging inefficiency at both ends. It simply isn't a one-to-one conversion of land and fossil fuels to food energy. The energy expenditure of agriculture is mostly going into organizing the vegetation's energy into the shape and configuration we want, not the food itself.

In the Americas, indigenous agricultural systems involve using the plants that exist in the environment to construct an ecosystem that both functions as an ecosystem and provides humans with food, clothing, and other important things. This is the most advanced way.

Most of our successful weeds are edible and useful. A weed is simply a plant that is symbiotic with humans. My hypothesis of plant domestication is that it was initiated by the plants, which became adapted to human environments, and humans bred them to be better crops in response. Symbiosis.

Humans did not pick out a few plants special to intensively domesticate out of an array of equally wild plants, instead they just ate, selected, and bred the plants that were best adapted to live near human civilization. That is my guess about how it happened.

Just think about it. Why would you try to domesticate teosinte (Maize ancestor?) It sucks. Domesticated plants in their wild form are usually like "Why would you put hundreds of years of effort into cultivating this?" Personally I think it's because the plant grew around humans and humans ate and used it a lot because it was abundant. So we co-evolved with the plant.

Supporting this hypothesis, there are many crop plants that mutated and evolved back into weeds, like "weedy" rice, "weedy" teosinte, and "weedy" radishes. Also weeds develop similar adaptations to crop plants to survive in the agricultural environment.

Consider Kudzu. Everyone in the USA knows it as an invasive weed, but since ancient times in China, it was a crop that provided people with fabric from its bast fibers, food from its enormous starchy roots, and many medicinal and other uses. Kudzu is not evil, it simply has a symbiotic relationship with humans, and just as any other species might serve as a biological control, the main biological control of kudzu in nature is the human species.

Think of the vast fields and mountain sides of the South swallowed by thick mats of Kudzu covering lumps that used to be trees. Think of the people toiling away to clear the Kudzu, while wearing clothes made of cotton that was grown in a faraway place using insecticides and depleting fresh water, using energy from their bodies that came from crops grown in fields far away.

Now imagine people working to harvest the Kudzu, to cut the new vines and dig up the starchy roots and use the plant the way it is used by the people who know its ways. Imagine the people using the starch from the Kudzu root to make flour and noodles and sweet confections. Imagine workers processing the vines into thread which is woven into fabric. The hillsides and fields flourish with plants that used to be suffocated, and hillsides and fields in faraway places also flourish with their own plants, instead of being made to grow cotton and crops to provide for the needs the Kudzu provides for.

Imagine the future where we accept our symbiotic relationship with the plants!

#from my drafts #the ways of the plants #plants #weeds #plantarchy

[boudiscanon]

Northern versus Southern Family

So one half of my family is from Michigan and the other half of my family is from Arkansas. And since I've never met anyone who wasn't my cousin who also has a family this radically split between the Mason-Dixon line (bc mine is the ONLY SOUTHERN WHITE FAMILY IN TOWN) lemme show y'all the cultural whiplash that is family gatherings at the grandparents’ for me:

House Aesthetic

North: Immaculately clean, Great Grandma’s china untouched in a hutch, New carpet and/or couch and/or hardwood floors for the kitchen like every other goddamn year, plain crosses, family photo sitting on the mantle, place where large family portrait would normally go instead graced by painting of a wolverine signed by Bo Schembechler, lots of duck hunting motifs, also did I mention clean?,seriously one time my grandma randomly paid me like $20 to just clean the outside and inside of her kitchen cupboard doors for her???

South: Overrun with knick-knacks, tables specifically devoted to knick-knacks and setting up holiday cards from family and church people, photos of every single family member at every single stage of life, furniture all from 1960, textured wallpaper, cross stitchings about Jesus hanging up, “A house is made of bricks and stones but homes are made of love alone”, only cleaned when family is coming up to visit, and then more to make room for all 32549879 of them than to make it look nice, mattresses in every spare room for said 32549879 family members

Openness

North: NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING, I am 26 and this year I learned my grandpa has a sister??????, I thought he only had brothers, dirty laundry is not acknowledged in any way whatsoever, prying questions are limited to grandparents asking about what you’ve been up to and some light-hearted ragging over your love life

South: I know all of my Grandparent’s 1700 siblings by first and middle name, and the entire family history, going back to the legend of Great-Great Grandpa Panther Bill back in Bethel Springs, dirty laundry is spread out on the living room floor to sort through especially if it belongs to cousins who aren’t there, any random family member can and will come up to you and instead of saying hello start in with “so has your brother found a job yet? you got a man yet? when you gettin married already? so is your sister gay or what?” and there is no escape, hell you probably won’ even remember which cousin three times removed is accosting you

Food

North: all done by grandma, maybe with a salad brought by my mom, dishes shoved in the dishwasher after, everyone gets one (1) tupperware container to bring home, grandma constantly trying out new recipes and insisting they probably aren’t very good, meanwhile Gordan Ramsey himself would probably kiss her on the lips and hire her on the spot

South: Everyone conspires to stop grandma from doing any actually work much to her consternation, GFS does half the cooking bc you can pick up giant ass pans of scalloped potatoes there and just toss them in the oven, there are always at least two meat dishes two potato dishes three veggies some kind of fluff and some kind of salad brought by aunt lee, not to mention two-three pies and ice cream for dessert, everyone brings home at least one (1) paper grocery bag full of leftovers and fights over who has to bring home the most bc how did we end up with more leftovers than were actually on the table??????, dishes done by hand by moms while grandma tries to help and gets told to sit down and relax, and i cannot tell you how much i suffered growing up being the only kid who knew what hominy and okra were

Conversation

North: politics, current events, the Tigers, gossip about snooty neighbors or snooty church people

South: Jesus, the Lions, gossip about cousins, family stories you’ve heard 17 times but idk it’s tradition?

Thoughts on Death

North: no one mentions getting old or implies in anyway that they aren’t just as spry as they used to be because it give grandpa Anxiety

South: one time my grandma basically kidnapped me and one of my aunts to point out exactly who was to get what when she died, my aunt pointed to a mirror with a gold leaf forest scene on it and called dibs, grandparent constantly complained about joints but also refused to ever sit down ever, basically every conversation with them involved a I Went To The Doctor And He Said update

Religion

North: Reformed Church in America (Calvinist)

South: Assembly of God (Pentecostal)

Thoughts on technology

North: My grandma recently got a laptop and wifi, she answers emails by calling you back

South: Grandparents never figured out how to use their answering machine, had written instructions from us on how to operate their VCR (so they could watch Jackie Chan movies)

Biggest Drama To Date

North: we don’t have family reunions on that side anymore because at the last one (before I was born) two brothers got in a fist fight, got written out of great grandpa’s will and then when he died great grandma refused to write them back in

South: It’s a toss up between maybe one time my great grandpa trapped a man inside a house he then proceeded to burn to the ground, the time that same great grandpa sprayed my dad in the face with pesticide as a kid and almost killed him, and my dad currently being on non-speaking terms with literally the entire family bc he idolized said great grandpa and also grew up to be an abusive insufferable douchecanoe, oh and that one time the sheriff arrested a cousin and two other cousins dueled the sheriff and busted him out, (or, according to one aunt and uncle, the fact that I have not gotten married and pregnant yet)

Levels of Family Pride

North: you’re pretty much good so long as you hate the state of Ohio or disparage the Tigers

South: You are literally expected to fight to the death for even the cousins you haven’t met or Jesus himself will descend from the Heavens to Disown You and the lines between “family” and “cult” are kind of blurred sometimes tbh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Also as a side note because of the difference in accents I have absolutely no fucking idea how to say “pecan.”)

#ambramblings #north #south #this is why when I do that white people thing #where everybody says what percentage of european they are #i just say half dutch half southern #bc that explains way more about me #family #abuse tw

[kevkesblog]

Translation: Interview with Julian Brandt before the DFB Cup Final (May 12, 2021)

Mister Brandt, what would it mean to win the DFB Cup and your first big title in professional football?

 Ju: A DFB Cup final is a new situation for me. I’m really looking forward to it – even without the atmosphere being like it usually is. I have a real motivation to win this final. It would be something special for me. Many players in our team have already won the DFB Cup before. It would be very important for the team and the club to hold something like that in their hands again.

 What personal memories do you have with the DFB Cup final?

 Ju: Since I’m a Bremen native I remember in 2009 when Werder Bremen won the cup I was in Berlin myself – not in the stadium, but in the city. My friends and myself were very happy after Bremen won the final against Bayer Leverkusen. Now I play the DFB Cup myself for a few years now and follow the finals closely.

 You stood in a DFB Cup semi-final with Bayer Leverkusen back in 2018 however you lost 2-6 against Bayern Munich. Has this been among your most bitter defeats?

 Ju: Of course you want to advance once you’re so close to the final. We even played a quite good game. However Bayern just had more quality and we didn’t have a chance against them. It was disappointing not reaching the final. It should always be your goal. But I hope I can play another final or two in the future.

 How do you assess the opponent RB Leipzig?

 Ju: They are quite good in the way how they play football. They go deep and do a good pressing. It’s a trademark of RB Leipzig. If a player loses a ball, everyone else tries to get the ball back. They are a very athletic team with many young players, who have an extremely good quality. And they have a very deep bench with many good players. If I think about how they were able to sub against Bremen in the semi-finals – Benjamin Henrichs or Emil Forsberg – it shows a great strength. They deserve to be on second place in the Bundesliga this season.

 Is there a favorite in the final?

 Ju: No. I think they are both good teams and everything can happen.

 Borussia Dortmund played an moody season. How do you assess this season?

 Ju: (thinks) I think times are special right now. It’s a new environment for every team to play in an empty stadium and to readjust to new hygiene plans every now and then. Some team deal with it fine other are having more problems. We belong to those team who struggled with it. We miss the fans extremely. 80,000 fans in the stadium do unleash some energy with our players. Those few percentages were missing. Those are – with a few minor exeptions – among the main reason for your season. At least we made it into a final and we have a chance to win a title and make it somewhat a golden season. And I really hope many things will change for the new season – not only in terms of football but also in our private lives of all people. I think if the normal life returns – also the easiness with BVB returns as well.

 Coach Terzic could crown his time as head coach with the DFB Cup before he’ll return to the bench as assistant coach. How important is it that he remains with the team in the future?

 Ju: You do have a different relationship with him, since he has already been assistant coach for a few years under Lucien Favre. And the good relationship stayed once he had taken over. On one hand you are a little looser with him on the other hand he is now the head coach. He helps us extremely. He can ignite a fire within our team from game to game. I think everybody is happy that he will stay with the team despite everything he has already achieved. Because lets be honest: once you tasted being head coach, perhaps you want more. However he loves the club and identifies with Borussia Dortmund.

 Lets talk about you again. You said once about your parents putting a lot of emphasis on being grounded and not losing ground. But isn’t that difficult sometimes if you are a national player at the age of 20?

 Ju: I think I never had a phase were I lost ground. At least that’s not what my family or friends told me. However its not easy all the time. I can understand that there are players, officials or coaches who like all the surroundings and it makes them better. Its unavoidable sometimes. Once success arrives and everyone patting you on your shoulder, the media hype starts, your mind has to deal with it first. It takes time. You can get crazy with it. I have always surrounded myself with family and friends. There has never been a reason to change. You become older and so you put more emphasis on different things in life unlike if you are 19 or 20 years old.

 Where have you put more emphasis on earlier than today?

 Ju: You went partying after the weekend as a 18, 19 or 20 year old after you scored a goal and made a good game. You get interested in new things. You basically get thrown into a pond as a young player. You want to try-out everything once. All your teammates drive great cars or wear expensive clothes. You are trapped in this system for a short time. However you wake up after a while and say: okay some things are cool, other stuff is unnecessary. For example I feel my contact for family and friends has become more important. I also spend more time in the gym then I did as a 19 oder 20 year old. And I pay more attention to what I eat. And somehow the time has ended where driving a fast car was something I was keen to do. I have a vespa roller in Cologne and sometimes that’s enough.

You just turned 25. Do you have a feeling about the public still treating you like a youngster?

 Ju: That was the case two or three years ago, perhaps. It changes a bit right now. However: I still have to play the youngster in Dortmund whenever we play eleven vs eleven. But I realize how time runs. I’m already in this business for eight years. Yet I still feel fresh. I don’t really follow closely what the media writs about me, so I can make any judgement in that regard.

 You almost played all national teams from under-15 to under-21 up until the first team. You played 35 games for them so far. What help has this been for you career?

 Ju: First of all, it was an extremely nice time. Every year I got some new experiences – whether it was the EURO-Cup with the under-17 or the under-20 World Cup in New Zealand. You get to know many people over the years, which you meet later on. For example: I became under-19 European champions with Marcus Sorg – and now he is assistant coach at DFB with the first national team. There have also been really nice characters like Horst Hrubesch. I’ve made many new experiences. It helped me a lot.

 Source: dfb.de

#julianbrandt #julian brandt #borussia dormund #borussiadortmund #dfbpokal #dfb #diemannschaft #germanNT

[berniesrevolution]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) floated a 60 to 70 percent tax rate on the richest Americans in an interview with CBS News’s “60 Minutes” that was released Friday, arguing higher taxes on multimillionaires could help pay for the “Green New Deal” she and other left-wing members of the Democratic Party have proposed.

Talking to Anderson Cooper, the new House member suggested the new tax rate apply to Americans earning more than $10 million a year, noting that similar rates existed in America a few decades ago. The top tax rate was above 90 percent during the 1950s, and while it has slowly descended, it remained as high as 50 percent for much of President Ronald Reagan’s tenure in the 1980s.

American households that earn more than $600,000 annually currently pay a 37 percent tax rate, down from the 39.6 percent rate they paid before the Republican tax law passed in 2017. Conservatives have pushed for lower taxes on the rich as a spur to economic growth, while liberals see potentially untapped revenue that could fund their key social spending priorities, such as Medicare for all and free college tuition.

“There’s an element where, yeah, people are going to have to start paying their fair share in taxes,” Ocasio-Cortez told “60 Minutes.”

How much revenue could new taxes on the rich really raise? We looked at the numbers, enlisting the help of a number of tax experts, including Mark Mazur, a former Treasury Department official now at the Tax Policy Center, a centrist think tank; Joel Slemrod, a tax expert at the University of Michigan; and Ernie Tedeschi, an economist who served in President Obama’s Treasury Department.

1. $720 billion/decade: Ocasio-Cortez’s suggestion for nearly doubling taxes on people earning more than $10 million

In 2016, the latest year for which government data is available, approximately 16,000 Americans earned more than $10 million each. These are not in fact “the 1 percent” many on the left like to talk about — they are a much smaller slice, fewer than 0.05 percent of all U.S. households.

It’s difficult to estimate precisely how much more in taxes the government could wring from this ultra-elite. Collectively, their total taxable income amounted to $405 billion in 2016, and they paid about $121 billion in federal income taxes. They also face state and local taxes, which raise their overall tax burdens.

As she noted to “60 Minutes,” Ocasio-Cortez’s idea for a 70 percent tax rate on those earning more than $10 million would only kick in beyond the first $10 million in income. So, this new tax rate would do nothing to add to the amount of federal revenue on the first $160 billion (16,000 people multiplied by $10 million) in taxes this group paid.

But that leaves about $244 billion in taxable income for those earning more than $10 million a year. If this entire pool was taxed at 70 percent instead of the 39.6 percent they paid in 2016, the federal government would bring in an additional $72 billion annually — or close to $720 billion over 10 years, according to Mazur. The real number is probably smaller than that, because wealthy Americans would probably find ways around paying this much-higher tax.

“You’d certainly see some people under that system change their behavior to avoid the higher rate, which could significantly impact how much revenue it generates,” Mazur said, adding that the effect would be hard to estimate. (The exercise also assumes capital gains would be taxed at this much higher rate.)

This $720 billion in a decade is not nearly enough to fund Medicare for all, which has been estimated to increase government outlays by about $30 trillion over a decade (while also zeroing out premiums and deductibles paid by Americans).

Still, it could fund a number of other measures. It could come close to funding the entirety of Sanders’s free college tuition plan ($800 billion), fund President Barack Obama’s plan to get close to universal prekindergarten ($75 billion over a decade), forgive more than half the student debt in America ($1.4 trillion), cover Democratic leaders' plan for boosting teacher pay and school funding ($100 billion), or come close to funding a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

And of course, higher income tax rates on the top 16,000 households is not the only way to raise taxes on rich Americans.

2. $3 trillion/decade: A wealth tax on the top 1 percent similar to those in Europe

The American government currently raises tax revenue primarily through payroll taxes and income taxes, and gets a smaller chunk from estate taxes and corporate taxes. It has not adopted a kind of tax that exists in some European countries: a wealth tax, wherein the federal government takes a chunk based on household wealth rather than income.

Norway, for instance, in 2016 taxed at a rate up to 0.70 percent for all wealth over 1.4 million kroner ($162,568). France’s wealth tax in 2017 hit assets above 1.3 million euros ($1.4 million).

Slemrod, of the University of Michigan, said in an email that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans own roughly one-third of the $107 trillion in wealth in America. This group collectively holds about $20 trillion in wealth above $10 million per household.

From there the calculation of wealth tax is simple: a 1 percent wealth tax on the wealthiest 1 percent of households above $10 million could raise about $200 billion a year, or $2 trillion over 10 years. Tedeschi, the former Obama official, found a 0.5 percent wealth tax on the top 1 percent could raise at most $3 trillion over 10 years.

But this, too, would probably change Americans' behavior and perhaps lead them to try shifting their wealth overseas, and the economists say the actual amount of revenue is likely lower than their estimates suggest. And this is assuming there are no exemptions to what is considered wealth, such as housing assets.

Plus, this approach would require Americans to give the Internal Revenue Service a full accounting of all the assets they own under law — something that could be required under law but may prove difficult to evaluate. In 1990, the federal government did try something similar by placing excise taxes on sales of yachts, expensive automobiles, jewelry and other things consumed by rich people. But that effort came right before a minor recession, leading to the repeal of the taxes.

“The difficulties of monitoring and compliance are huge,” Mazur said of the wealth tax. “But it could be done and raise a lot of money.”

3. $3 trillion/decade: Doubling income taxes on the top 1 percent

In 2012, the economists Peter Diamond of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley published a paper arguing the optimal top tax rate is 73 percent. In 2018, that would raise the tax rate on income above $600,000 from 37 percent to 73 percent, but back then it meant increasing the top rate from 39.6 percent to 73 percent.

The IRS says that Americans earning more than $600,000 annually compose the richest 0.9 percent of families, so we’ll use that for shorthand for the 1 percent.

In 2016, this richest 0.9 percent earned about $1.7 trillion in taxable income and paid about $530 billion in taxes. These Americans would have to pay an additional $320 billion every year in taxes if the top tax rate went up to 70 percent, according to calculations based on IRS data. Mazur, the former Treasury official, noted this estimate was probably high because the wealthy would probably find ways to try to shelter themselves from higher taxation, such as by buying tax-exempt bonds.

Other economists found similar results. Tedeschi, the former Obama economist, put the number at about $300 billion annually. Meanwhile, raising tax rates for the top 1 percent to 57 percent would raise about $1.7 trillion over a decade, while raising it to 83 percent would raise $3.8 trillion over that period, Tedeschi found.

“You can get a hell of a lot of a money from taxing the 1 percent,” said Edward Wolff, a tax expert at New York University.

The Congressional Budget Office also recently estimated that raising taxes on the two highest income brackets by 1 percentage point would net $123 billion over 10 years. That would be for everybody who earns more than $200,000 annually.

(Continue Reading)

#politics #the left #progressive #progressive movement #alexandria ocasio-cortez #democrats #democratic party #taxes #taxation #washington post

[too-cool-for-facebook]

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS, CHILDREN?!

THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S TIME FOR FUN IN GENEALOGY!

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🚫 ! NAZIS DO NOT INTERACT ! 🚫

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Up to date, I’ve had a DNA test, and my maternal uncle has had a DNA test, and what I’ve done is cross-compare our results, with the idea in my head that if something shows up in mine but not his, it is more likely to have come from his mother via mitochondrial DNA - and if it shows up in his but not mine, it more likely to have come from his father via Y-DNA

So being the ever voracious devourer of knowledge, I have to know more. So now I want to cross-compare my dad and his sister in much the same way, and that will give me a broader view of both sides of the family.

My aunt was kind enough to get a DNA test taken...

but while a reputable service, they currently don’t have the option to download raw data - the whole reason I wanted the test so I could plug it into My True Ancestry

Oh Auntie Gammpaw. If only you could follow instructions and have used Ancestry.com like I requested...

The site still gave us a basic overview (and I mean basic, for the basic user with no knowledge of genetics and genealogy), like where your most recent ancestors likely came from, as well as “Here’s some strands of DNA that kind of look like DNA from indigenous populations from around the globe, so they kinda sorta might be related to you in the distant past”

Immediately what I can gather from the data presented me:

- Primarily North/Western European: Germania/Scandinavia, a little bit of Irish & British, and traces of Iberian and Toscani Italian. The "Iberian" data is probably the result of the Germanic Visigoth invasion of Iberia*. The Toscani Italian is undoubtedly the result of the Roman invasion of the British Isles (as well as just Europe in general)

- AdMixed American: So it would appear my paternal grandparents WEREN’T liars when they said they had a little bit of Indian in them! 😮 From a source much further south than expected, though - seems like a lineage that started in Peru, moved up through Colombia to Mexico, and then from there, continued migrating further into North America and/or mixed with the North Amerindians already there

- South Asian: This to me says there was at least one person of Rroma "g*psy" descent. The Rroma people are most closely related to the modern Punjabi, and around the 1100s they migrated into Europe where they have suffered a long history of oppression since. *Alternatively, the Iberian lineage could be from a person of Rroma descent, as one of the largest and well-established settlements of Rroma was/is in Spain, where they are known as "gitanos"

Alternatively ALTERNATIVELY, very few people know that European Rromas were sent to the American colonies as slaves, and perhaps our gitano admixed with the native Puerto Ricans there 🤔

- East Asian: (Trace percentage = 0.9%). At first, this surprised me. But the most likely scenario is that someone of East Asian descent had offspring with someone from South Asia, and from there, that lineage followed the Rroma trail into Europe

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So that’s it for this addition of Fun in Genealogy. The service Auntie Gammpaw used says they plan to offer downloadability in the future, but we’ll see how long that takes (if I don’t get bored and send an Ancestry.com DNA test to her myself before then)

Good night, everybody!

#Fun in Genealogy #my family #my family tree #family tree #ancestry #genealogy #genetics #genetic research #family research

[classyfoxdestiny]

tata steel: Tata Steel will pursue recycling route to grow in India: TV Narendran

tata steel: Tata Steel will pursue recycling route to grow in India: TV Narendran

The India business at 20 million tonnes will generate enough EBITDA to take care of the growth that is required in India without having to borrow to support that growth, says TV Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel.

I never thought Tata Steel which is a commodity company will report this kind of robustness in their profit. We are talking to you at a time when steel prices and steel demand is at record high, so acche din (good days) are back but are acche din here to stay? Yes these have been good times for the industry and rightly so. This industry has invested hugely in building capacity over the last many years and we have struggled with a lot of challenges over the last decade. We are seeing more stability in global markets. We are seeing more discipline out of China as far as steel exports are concerned and we are seeing demand coming back because many economies including India are investing in infrastructure and Tata Steel over the last few years has grown in India very significantly. India has always been at world-beating profitability levels from an industry benchmark point of view.

The steel cycle normally lasts for four to five… The steel industry is going through a structural change. The steel prices will continue to be volatile. Secondly, the cost structures are changing because carbon costs are there in Europe. Thirdly, the demand side is showing improvement with everyone investing in infrastructure. So there are some structural changes. Prices will be volatile at a much higher level than it has been in the last 10 years.

One favourable factor could be the new American administration programme of Build America. America is the net importer of steel and they are now looking at creating a new infrastructure. Do you think from a demand standpoint, it is no longer China but the US which is going to create the biggest demand and that is the benchmark which we should use now? In the US, the hot rolled coil prices are over $1,800. So, when we talk of high steel prices in India and the US, the cost of steel is twice that of India. Secondly, the US is not a great market or not an easy market to export into because there is a lot of protection in place. As a consequence, US steel prices will be high. The US is also a big exporter of scrap and that means, scrap prices will continue to be high in the global market. So the US will certainly drive a lot of the sentiment in the steel industry. But it may not be a great market to have access to because of all the restrictions they have.

While the steel cycle may be in a boom in India or China, the problem is Europe. That is a slow moving part for you. You have indicated in the past that you want the European business to become self sustainable. How far is the European business away from being atmanirbhar (self-reliant)? I think it is already there. This year, the European business will be significantly EBITDA positive. It is already PAT positive. It will be cash positive. So they are already atmanirbhar. In fact, even last year, we hardly sent any money to our European business. They are pretty much standing on their own. The Netherlands business has always stood on its own and the UK business is also turning around quite well. You will see much better quarters ahead because in Europe we have a hangover of older contracts with lower prices. A lot of those have been renegotiated or have expired and new contracts have come in. So you will start seeing significant flow through into the bottom line in Europe starting this quarter. Europe is already standing on its own.

Your five-year capex plan shows very modest numbers. It is about $2 billion. Why is that? We have announced that we will complete the Kalinganagar expansion which is 5 million tonnes and had already been announced earlier. We will complete that in the next couple of years. That is our primary focus. Beyond that, we have the opportunity to go to 40 million tonnes in India in our existing sites. We said that it is not part of our capex plan because we have not yet taken it to the board. But we have that possibility. Last year we said first let us get the debt down. Obviously the debt is coming down faster than we had planned. This year also will be strong as far as debt reduction is concerned. That gives us a lot of headroom to expand as and when we want and where we want.

Then there are inorganic growth opportunities in India as well. So from a growth point of view, the India business is committed to go to about 40 million tonnes over the next decade and we have both organic and inorganic growth possibilities to achieve that number. As far as Europe is concerned, the business will take care of itself. The capex required there will be more sustenance capex, improving the product mix, transitioning into a greener future and so on. It is not growth capex. Growth capex will be in India.

In a downcycle, everybody talks about debt. In an upcycle, everybody talks about capex. You have given us an indication of capex, let us talk about debt. In the non-declared capex plan, if you have to expand do you think you will be able to generate enough cash flows to sustain them or could this debt to equity ratio be compromised as you expand? Typically the India business is able to take care of its own growth because the India cash flows have always been strong. In the case of the India business over the last 10-15 years, the lowest point has been 20% EBITDA margin and that is not so visible sometimes because of the consolidated numbers. But the India business is fundamentally strong and can stand on its own even in a downcycle and can take care of its own capex.

Growth in India need not be compromised even in a down cycle. What we have also said is in the long term, we will try to keep the debt EBITDA to less than 2. Today we are at 1.6 and it is going to go down further as we pay our debt but that is a headroom available to Tata Steel, even if we have to borrow. The business at 20 million tonnes will generate enough EBITDA to take care of the growth that is required in India without having to borrow to support that growth.

Unlike IT and a lot of other businesses, the steel cycle is cyclical. This is a boom time which means you would be generating a lot of cash and realisations will be higher. How are you planning to conserve the cash? Primarily, we will pare down the debt. We pared the debt by almost Rs 27,000 crore last year. This year also there will be significant debt reduction playing out over the subsequent quarters. So there is a significant debt reduction plan that gives us the headroom to expand when we want to. We are certainly going to make sure that our balance sheet is fixed for good and we are strong enough to participate and pursue growth opportunities in India. We are committed to growing in India. We are very bullish about the prospects for steel in India and we will invest to grow.

Your annual report mentions that you are looking at lowering your dependence on iron ore and increasing your dependence on recycling. How will this change your operations and the timeline of your capex? What we were basically saying is that while Tata Steel has traditionally been an iron ore and blast furnace based producer, we will pursue the recycling root to grow in India. Our south-east Asian business is totally recycling. It is all electric arc furnaces converting scrap into steel and outsteam products. What we said is particularly for long products business. We will leverage this process. We have already set up India’s first shredder and organised recycling facility in Rohtak.

We are scouting for an opportunity to build a mini steel plant there. We are talking to the different state governments there and we are looking at using this kind of a model to grow in the north, west and south where there is more scarp available than in the east. In the east, where there is iron ore available, our focus will be on iron ore base growth and we have three big sites in Kalinganagar, Angul and Jamshedpur to allow us to grow there. So we will have a mix of both. Iron ore based growth in the east and recycling and scrape based growth in the north, west and south.

There are very few sectors in India which have seen complete consolidation. Telecom is one. Steel is the other one. The reason why I am asking you this question is that you said you are open to inorganic opportunities. Are there any inorganic assets available in India? Not so much in the private sector, but the government has announced plans for

Ispat. We are participating in the process there. There has been talk about RINL, we are waiting to see what the timeline is on that. So we will wait and see what are the inorganic growth opportunities. But in inorganic, we will be more focussed on long products because for flat products, our existing sites allow us the runway for growth and we should look at consolidation differently from flat products and long products. Flat products are very consolidated like you said but long products are 40-50% secondary sector. The bigger players account for less than 50% of the production in India. So there is room for consolidation in long products as well.

We are aware that Tata Steel is now trying to build a branded steel business. As percentage of your turnover, how large is that? What is the difference in terms of your long term contacts with auto companies and other buyers versus when you are selling it in the wholesale market or when you are selling steel or Tata Steel products as a brand? So the whole concept of branding the way we do it today, started about 20 years back. The Tata Steel B2B business is the automotive, oil and gas business. There we focus on high quality products, discerning customers and approval-based business. It is technically challenging to get in and that is where we think we have an edge and we focus our B2B businesses there.

The B2C business leverages the Tata name because that business is about selling steel in single tonnes, one tonne, two tonne, three tonne for somebody who is building a house and that somebody who is building a house is not a regular steel buyer and is willing to pay the premium for Tata Tiscon which is our brand for rebars or Tata Shaktee which is a roofing sheet brand. They are ready to pay 10-20% more for steel which is 5% of the cost for building a house. So the whole business is built on that. It is worth about $2 billion now. We want to target about 20-25% of our revenues coming from B2C business including the services and solutions that we are selling to those customers. So these businesses are stickier as far as prices are concerned because the price depends on local issues and does not depend on what is happening in China or south-east Asia or elsewhere. This has been a strong business for us and continues to grow.

Another addition to that is we are doing almost Rs 100 crore a month of this online. Consumers are coming online and buying the steel. We have a platform called Aashiyana and that did Rs 700 crore business in the year that went by. We will do Rs 1,500 crore this year. It was Rs 300 crore when we started two years back. So we are seeing a different route to market developing, a different way of order generation and fulfilment, which are opportunities we want to leverage.

The steel cycle is good and so whatever is happening in Europe right now, will be overlooked and the numbers and the realisations would be different. But what is the long term plan to ensure that the European business is self-sufficient even in a steel downturn? A lot of actions have been taken over the last few years. In ,Europe we shrunk the business when we first acquired it. It was 18 million tonnes, we shrunk it to 10 million tonnes and most of that shrinkage happened in the UK which was 10 million tonnes when we acquired and is 3 million tonnes now. So between the 3 million tonne plant in Port Talbot in the UK and the 7 million tonne plant in the Netherlands, we have the right sites in Europe.

Our Netherlands plant is one of the most cost efficient plants in Europe. It is well located and structurally strong and should be able to ride the downcycle. It has always done well even in the downcycle. We have had some operational issues in the last few years but now we are back to normal.

The UK is where we have had a bigger challenge and again there a lot of heavy lifting has been done. I think we are better positioned there. While we do not report the UK numbers separately, till last year, they were coming close to being EBITDA positive and now we are very clearly EBITDA positive. Hopefully, this year we will be cash positive in the UK as well. We are better positioned to ride the down cycle in both these places.

We are also talking to the governments because in Europe there is a transition plan being developed by different governments and the governments are willing to support industry because they want to decarbonise and hence they are willing to support industry in this transition. So there are conversations going on with both the Dutch government and the British government to see what the role government can play to help us transition to a green future.

Looking at the demand-supply and especially looking at the demand supply both in India and also globally, how long will it take for capacities to kick in because demand will remain strong that is what indicators are indicating us? The difference between what is happening today and what happened 10-12 years back is that very few countries are adding capacity. Between 2000 and 2010, when demand was strong, China was adding 50 million tonnes a year of capacity. It is no longer happening. In fact, China is cutting down on production, China is reducing exports. The only country which is adding capacity significantly and rightly so is India.

That is why globally there will be a better balance. The big exporters of steel in the world are China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Japan has already said they are going to cut down local production because they do not want to export steel. Korea also is expected to go that way. Russia is also discouraging exports. Globally you will see a better balance in the trade and capacity if added, will largely be in India which is the right place to add capacity because India has good quality iron ore and India needs more investments and needs to create more jobs.

I believe India will emerge as a reasonably large exporter. We are already exporting one-and-a-half million tonnes a month now. India is certainly better positioned to be an exporter than Japan or Korea because we are a lower cost place to produce steel. It is not just Tata Steel, all our peers in the industry also produce steel efficiently and at a lower cost than most of our peers outside the country. When you look at Make in India, the steel industry is certainly an industry which should be backed. We are creating jobs in remote parts of the country and India is a good place to export steel from. I do not see excess capacity being built so fast this time.

There are indications that some ministries are not very happy about the sudden price hikes which have happened in cement and steel and indirect hints have come that industry needs to be more watchful. Could that pour cold water on the brilliant steel story in India? Honestly the answer to rising steel prices is more steel production in India and the answer to more production in India is investments in steel in India and that investment will come if the steel industry is profitable. In the last 10 years, steel and power have suffered the most in terms of financial performance. If we do not have profit, where will the money come to invest and create more capacity and if we do not have more capacity, how do you manage prices in a globally traded product?

The problem of steel prices is not just an Indian problem, it is a problem globally. So unless there is profitability in the industry, investors will not invest in the industry. We should allow the industry to invest and if they have to invest, obviously there would be some years where they have to make some money and deleverage their balance sheet which is what is exactly happening. The steel industry together has announced investments of almost Rs 100,000 crore over the next few years. All of us have announced expansion plans. The money which is being made is getting reinvested in building more steel capacity, hopefully that will help stabilise prices in India but globally if steel prices are strong, that will have an impact on India as well.

Does the industry need entry barriers now? I would like to clarify what entry barriers means. Anybody anywhere in the world can invest in India to build a steel plant. You cannot say that of most countries. Today, if some Indian steel company wants to invest and build a steel plant in China or Japan or Korea, it cannot. So from the investment point of view, we are freer than most countries in the world. The problem was steel was being dumped in India. Import duty for steel was 5% or 2.5% or 0% for some countries with whom we had an FTA. How many industries in India have 0% import duty or 2.5% import duty or even 5% import duty? Very few. So that was a time when the industry said that there has to be some support because tens of thousands of crores have been invested in this industry and because some countries were trying to get rid of 50-60 million tonnes of steel, India cannot be the dumping ground. That was the primary point the industry made and yes the government played a very big role in giving us that support and rightly so. So this industry has come back and is investing in India.

My answer to that question is anybody who wants to participate in the opportunity in India should come and invest in India like all of us and sell in India. That is a great opportunity. It is a land with the government’s ambition of Make in India and we are one of the free-est countries as far as investment is concerned. I would push for that rather than say make steel anywhere and then sell it in India. How do you create jobs in India if you do that?

What are chances that we could see a push back on exports? Obviously that is a government’s prerogative but most Indian companies are exporting between 15% and 25-30% of what they produce which is not so significant. The important point I want to make is a lot of concern has to do with steel being used in construction. Those are long products. They are hardly exported. Most of the exports are flat products. So I am not sure if any export controls will help bring down the long product prices if they are high globally or they are high because of input costs being high. The problem with long products is that 50% to 60% are being produced by the secondary sector. They are struggling with higher input costs so I am not sure if export taxes will help that problem.

What do you think the headline would be on Tata Steel in 2025? Right now the headline is that Tata Steel has reported record profits. Tata Steel is a fundamentally strong company. We have had some challenges for the last 10-12 years. I think a lot of them are getting fixed. We are adding high on a commodity cycle now but you will see us as a structurally stronger and future ready company doing well.

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‘My pants didn’t fit’: Travelers checking in at fitness resorts to drop pandemic pounds – CNN

(CNN) — If the “baking elf” hadn’t spent the pandemic whipping up sweet confections, Frances Hohl might not have gained 25 pounds.

But the magical pastry chef — aka Hohl’s 19-year-old daughter, Casmere, who was doing college remotely — calmed her Covid anxiety by baking fabulous creations almost every night: Strawberry shortcakes and chocolate chip cookies and French macarons and lemon meringue pies. She once even made a wedding cake. Never mind that no marriage was taking place.

Hohl couldn’t ignore her daughter’s efforts. Nor did she want to. “Wedding cake is my favorite,” says Hohl, 56, a writer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

And that is how, 11 months into lockdown, Hohl found herself at Movara, a fitness resort in Ivins, Utah, trekking through rust-colored canyons with sand so thick she was practically wading in it. Her calves ached. Her shoulders throbbed. Blisters erupted between her toes. Still, in the afternoons she did strength or cardio classes, along with massages and other body treatments — all in an effort to take off the pounds she had amassed.

“I just felt so uncomfortable in my body,” says Hohl.

Many people felt similarly after a year spent ordering takeout, bingeing Netflix and working from home — often facing enormous stress, anxiety and depression. According to a March research letter published in JAMA Network Open, Americans gained more than half a pound every ten days of lockdown.

Movara Fitness Resort in Ivins, Utah, was recently sold out 18 weeks in a row.

Courtesy Movara Fitness Resort

And the urge to drop pandemic pounds extends beyond the United States.

Slimmeria, a weight loss, detox and fitness retreat operator in the United Kingdom, has been sold out since May. “I think due to the Covid situation people are taking their health very seriously and started practicing self help,” says Slimmeria owner Galia Grainger.

Caroline Sylger Jones, the founder of retreat guide and review site Queen of Retreats, is seeing the same thing.

“Most of our UK and European retreats that have been able to run have sold out this summer, although everyone says bookings are last minute,” she says. “Definitely people are looking to lose their lockdown weight and get fitter.”

Now that the world is opening up, weight loss and fitness resorts are reaping the benefits of those goals.

Looking to lose the ‘Covid 19’

Hilton Head Health, in South Carolina, has seen a 30% increase in new inquiries since mid-February, with a six- to eight-week waiting list. Due to customer demand, The Ranch in Malibu, California, recently launched The Ranch 9.0, a nine-day experience that adds two days to its signature week-long program. And We Care, in Desert Hot Springs, California, is so busy that they’re considering opening a branch on the East Coast.

Movara in Utah was recently sold out 18 weeks in a row.

“And there’s no sign of it slowing down,” says Elaine Hartrick, Movara’s general manager. “Guests arrive each week talking about how they’ve gained the ‘Covid 19’ or the ‘Covid 25’ or ‘Covid 30’. People recognized obesity as a risk factor for complications from Covid, and they wanted to change their lifestyle so they wouldn’t become another statistic. It was a wake-up call for so many people.”

Caren Kabot, the founder of Solo Escapes, a travel company that focuses on spa and wellness, says people are also looking to rest and reset after a year of confinement.

“They’re like, where do I start? What do I need to do? I say, plan at least one week where you can focus on creating balance in your life while shedding a few extra pounds.”

Fit Farm offers fitness and weight loss programs in Tennessee.

Courtesy Fit Farm

‘It was so calming’

Tiffany Benjamin, 41, took that further and booked a month-long stay at Fit Farm, in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

“We e-learned three kids and stayed inside for a year and several months, and I just ate and drank and gained about 60 pounds,” says Benjamin, who runs a foundation for a company in Indianapolis. “I wasn’t feeling great, my pants didn’t fit. I hadn’t lifted anything other than a donut box. I thought, just to go someplace to not have to pick up anybody’s socks and to be given a schedule of what to do sounds great.”

Each morning she woke up at 6 a.m. for a pre-breakfast workout, along with eight to 10 other guests. The remainder of the day consisted of five to six hours of workouts and workshops on everything from nutrition to the 5 Love Languages, along with three healthy meals and two snacks. Think adult summer camp, but with cooking classes, interval training and unsweetened bug juice.

The camaraderie was as important as the physical fitness. At all of these resorts guests eat meals together, and work out as a group.

“Everybody was sort of on the same mission, no matter where they were in terms of health and weight,” says Benjamin. “We were there to be kind to ourselves and each other. I watched the sunrise over the horizon. I petted a horse. I went hiking. It was so calming and I didn’t have to make a lot of decisions.”

Fit Farm retreats take place at Rock Springs Retreat Center in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

Courtesy Fit Farm

Pandemic stress takes a toll

Stress and anxiety are two of the biggest reasons why many people gain weight in general, and specifically during lockdown, says Katie Rickel, a licensed clinical psychologist and the chief executive of Structure House, in Durham, North Carolina.

“Stress, habit and boredom, and that describes the pandemic,” says Rickel, adding that Structure House is booked solid three months out. “All the reasons people went to food was accentuated. Covid also sensitized people to just how delicate our health is and helped people reprioritize just how controllable health behaviors are.”

Jacob Norry, 25, went to Structure House for five weeks in November. A graduate student in marine biology in Fort Lauderdale, Norry has struggled with binge eating for years. Last August he broke his ankle and his weight shot up to 280 pounds. He fell into a deep depression.

“Covid didn’t help,” he says. “I live alone and not having people come over was hell.”

A family friend suggested Structure House, which offers treatment for compulsive overeating, and Norry decided to go. He lost 20 pounds, most of which he has kept off.

“They really help rebuild your relationship with food,” he says. “When I went into Structure House my goal was, ‘I want to get back to 175.’ Now my goal is, ‘I want to be healthy.'”

Participants exercise during a Fit Farm retreat.

Courtesy Fit Farm at Rock Springs Retreat Center

‘We needed something different’

Getting healthy is what brought Laura and Danielle Prioleau to Movara. The mother-daughter duo from Twentynine Palms, California, spent nine weeks there.

“Before the pandemic I had lost nearly 60 pounds and was doing really well,” says the twenty-something Danielle, who is completing her graduate studies in marriage and family therapy.

“But during the pandemic I gained weight and wasn’t really getting out. I wanted to support my mom and make this a joint effort. We both wanted a lifestyle change and were tired of the dieting rigamarole. Nothing was sticking. We needed something different.”

She was able to work remotely; her mother, a comptroller for a non-profit organization, took time off from work to go to Movara. “Being at home, with three kids who came home from college — I was just cooking and playing board games,” says Laura Prioleau.

Laura has lost almost 35 pounds and Danielle has dropped about 30 pounds.

These vacations don’t come cheap. Rates for a new participant at Structure House start at $3,050 for a one-week visit, and about $2,500 a week in a shared one-bedroom apartment if you stay four weeks. The Ranch runs $8,600 for seven days and $10,800 for nine. At Fit Farm, a double starts at $2,399 for one week. Movara begins at $1,995 per person in a shared room ($2,569 in a single) for a week.

But many people who can afford this kind of retreat feel they’re worth the investment — though there are no guarantees they’ll keep the weight off.

Because though most resorts offer some kind of return-to-the-real world program, let’s face it: It’s easy to eat healthfully when someone is cooking for you, leading you on hikes, and removing temptation. The challenge comes when the fairy dust settles and the real world kicks in.

But some people prevail. Hohl lost nine pounds during her month at Movara, and her body fat percentage went from 43.7 to 39.6.

When she returned to Colorado she did the Movara Home program and lost another 11 pounds. (It also helped that the “baking elf” got a full-time job, which cut down on her kitchen time.)

Hohl hopes to return to Movara next February for a reset. “I’ve gotten so many comments from family who last saw me before I went away,” says Hohl. “They could tell I was just much happier and obviously smaller.”

source https://wealthch.com/my-pants-didnt-fit-travelers-checking-in-at-fitness-resorts-to-drop-pandemic-pounds-cnn/

[tripnumbersofficial]

An interview with Breaking Travel News: Gavin Tollman, Chief Executive Officer, Trafalgar

The business was planning to begin an expansion into Africa in the spring of last year when Breaking Travel News talked to Trafalgar's chief executive, Gavin Tollman.

He hoped that new destinations, fresh source markets and new experiences would allow the brand owned by Travel Corporation to continue its global growth.

So as we sat in his palatial office next to Buckingham Palace in central London a year later did the launch satisfy expectations?

Our Africa product was nothing short of amazing in terms of revenue from the United Kingdom; in the first few months we surpassed our complete first year budget.

"Once again this year, sales far outstripped the expected interest-it was enormously encouraging."

For Tollman and the Travel Company, bringing Trafalgar to Africa is something of a personal achievement, with the organization tracing its origins back to the middle of the last century in South Africa.

"Tollman continues: "The most exciting moment for me, personally, came in December last year the family gathered in South Africa for the holiday season.

This meant that I was there when Cape Town left for the first trip and I had the chance to meet the 20 or so guests who were travelling.

What really stood out when I look back, was the excitement and hope of the journey ahead-none of them expected Africa to be so exciting.

On the backdrop of Table Mountain, we gave a welcome reception against an all-glass wall, and as we were there, we had one of those beautiful sunsets, and the mountain spread out the 'tablecloth' and cloud poured over the top.

"One of those special moments, it was."

Tollman is also able to point to changes within the Travel Company in Africa from abroad, with Red Carnation's sister brand currently involved in constructing what he calls the 'ultimate' safari lodge in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

Opening next year, Xigera Safari Lodge will encourage guests to see large cats, magnificent birds (including native kingfishers), wild scavengers and majestic giants in their natural habitat, while also enjoying the hotel brand's hospitality.

But it has not been smooth sailing, Tollman confides.

I was in the United States only working with hotel team members ahead of the opening in June next year and the project's ambition is great," he continues."

Yet of course, there were delays, as with any project - but ours was unexpected.

There was first a leopard-the property is obviously on the delta, so you have to have a bridge to get to it and a female leopard decided for a day that the bridge was the ultimate place to enjoy the sun.

"There was also a python that took up residence in our architect Anton's room-needless to say he was frightened-and it was hard to persuade him to spend a lot of time in the camp."

His excitement is contagious, however, and in the coming months we can expect to hear a lot more about this project.

Closer to home, and from an outbound viewpoint from the UK, it is eastern Europe that piqued Trafalgar's interest.

If I look at Europe and our expansion here it is in eastern Europe first and foremost.

"We see the former Yugoslavia and some of the Baltic countries as growth markets, as well as Poland, where we see a real, completely unprecedented, resurgence in demand," Tollman explains.

I am often asked how we find our experiences and with great difficulty, I always answer!

Everyone would do it if it was convenient.

That's why people are actually traveling with Trafalgar to take advantage of that study and expertise.

"Simply from going to trade shows, you can not find these experiences-you have to knock on doors, ask friends of friends and keep your mind open."

Trafalgar has noticed a shift in the booking window when it comes to actually making travel plans, Tollman continues.

Our European and British revenues vary from where they have been heading for years.

The interest we see is currently higher than net bookings even though they remain strong, and what this means is that we have entered a time of uncertainty.

Politics in the United States, an election in Australia and economics here in the United Kingdom have all changed the booking window, and people are now booking even closer to leaving.

Trafalgar therefore went out of our way to support our travel agent partners, to give them the assurance and that has been well received with the 100 percent assured departures here in Europe.

Travelers have a common sense of 'why book now?' There is a rise in production, but a decline in transformation.

Instead of the six or seven months we've seen in the past, we now see bookings 90 days out. People are wondering whether they need to book so early and prefer to wait and see.

With Brexit, people don't think that Britain would shut down, they just don't know what it would look like, so before booking, they prefer to wait and see.

One of the biggest opportunities I see when I look forward to is outbound from here in the United Kingdom, there is a tremendous potential for growth.

"Major legacy brands have been having problems, others have been pulling out, but I am a strong believer that some of the best opportunities occur when there is a little uncertainty in a market.

"Here in the UK, we have put in new structures to take advantage of that."

Tollman, when we spoke last year, pointed to the position of travel agents as a key to the Travel Corporation's success, a message reiterated by Jonathan Raggett, chief executive of Red Carnation.

However the Trafalgar chief warns that their position is shifting, with fewer young travellers using conventional high-street agents.

Research conducted last year by the company suggested that half of potential travelers believe the time and research needed to schedule a vacation makes a trip unduly stressful, with agents now required to add value to reduce the demands of choosing where to go.

What emerged from the study was an unexpected customer perspective; today travelers are frustrated by the excess of options, choosing what to purchase is becoming increasingly difficult.

They were searching for 'real and authentic' travel while looking at travel, but this is increasingly difficult to get. You do not just go and knock on local doors and ask to come in.

People read guides and research on the internet about their journey, but they end up doing almost the same things.

"These are all things that are beginning to bubble up in the minds of consumers, and I say to our agents when I look at that that's your greatest opportunity."

He adds: "My trade challenge is one of the reasons why people will not visit a travel agent if you are no more than an order taker, and you add no real value to the purchase cycle."

Following your own research, if all an agent does is book a holiday for you then what value do they add?

What I'm telling agents is that the best chance is to become a travel professional, to add value, and your future will never be brighter.

Finally, the increasing importance of overtourism, a subject where Tollman has been especially outspoken, is discussed in our discussion.

"Overtourism is a reality, and when I hear people in our industry say I am only 'x' percentage of tourism, the thing that antagonizes and frustrates me the most is that I am not part of the problem," he explains.

But the fact is we have to look at things from the eyes of the locals if we are in the travel industry.

If they see travel as a problem, then that is the truth-after all it is their home.

As an industry, we should look at a few main principals, the first being the value of dissemination.

This means moving away from only the iconic: the advantage of tourism must be felt by local people and if all you do is visit the iconic places, there is no real gain for people.

"This implies that there is no real benefit to tourism, there is only pollution from crowds-it needs to be done in a way that benefits locals."

Secondly, 365 tourism must ensure that you bring visitors throughout the year.

If everybody goes at the same time, you end up with these immense blocks and nothing else.

We continually question ourselves as to how we can become a provider of year-round travel.

"As with our autumn, winter, spring series, where we changed the entire costing model to ensure that we could inspire people to travel year-round, this again requires an open mind."

However, perhaps somewhat predictably, Tollman believes that government taxation is not the way to minimize overtourism.

I am irritated by governments that over-tax the travel industry," he concludes."

We are not local constituents, but they see travel as a necessary evil, but they do not see it in the larger context of its financial advantages.

Governments need to recognize that not all tourism is the same, they need to investigate the effect visitors have on a destination they are visiting.

For example, we're supporting the destination in Venice, where we have Be My Guests and Uniworld river cruises.

We take guests around the lagoon, helping, for instance, to benefit local fishermen, which is very different from anyone who comes on a cruise ship and has very little contribution to the economy.

"If an organization does not contribute, then of course, there might be an opportunity to tax more but governments need to be very careful."

More Info

Trafalgar is a guided holiday company that offers a range of exciting destinations with itineraries.

Trafalgar offers an insider's viewpoint of almost 70 years of experience and local knowledge to create travel experiences around the world.

On the official website you will find out more.

[salytierra]

I'm sorry if this is uncomfortable for you to answer and you don't have to if you don't want to. But what is your opinion on what's happening in Catalunya right now? From the perspective of someone who is Catalan and really knows, what's happening there?

You might have noticed this blog has gone on “fandom-hiatus” and the only thing I do is reblog once a day or post something related to this issue. So by scrolling a bit through my blog is very evident everything I need to say. 

So to just sum it up:

CATALONIA:

1. There is a percentage of population that wants in dependence. It’s not the majoritarian percentage but it’s very loud, passionate, insistent and pushy. They also got the support of the government (or are controlled by it).

2. That’s why there are two, opposite fractions of the government that want independence. The industrial elite, heirs of the right-wing party CiU and the Anti-system CUP + friends (ex: esquerra republicana). They found a common ground in it because LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE HAS BEEN DONE FOR YEARS but talk about the secessionist plans. 

3. 20 years ago CiU began an indoctrination process from schools, based off twisted, transgressed history and symbols. They were smart and when the recession arrived, used the cuts that they made, that all of Spain had to make, but where the other regions’ governments accepted their responsibility, the catalan governemnt diverged the attention from them and popularized the “Spain is stealing from us” slogan, and actively used the drive to independence to rise in power, by promising utopia wonders in an independent Catalonia. 

4. Fast forward a few years of increasing tension and we got a very, very aggressive secessionist movement, led by politicians that raised themselves to the status of Gods for their followers. Young people are extremely susceptible. Because of the aforementioned indoctrination and because the government asks to “disobey and rebel against the fascist Spain”. Young people love “disobeying” and it also became a social trend. 

5. We live in a moment and a region where anyone who disagrees with their opinion becomes an outcast. Some months ago students were beaten up till critical state in the Barcelona University just for being anti-independentist. Which is why most people that are against it don’t speak it out loud. You just can’t speak it out loud. You can’t voice your opinion, you can’t HAVE a different opinion. 

6. For the Catalan government and its followers the non-secessionist Catalans ARE NOT CATALANS. We are called traitors, fascist, we are insulted in every possible way, harassed, boycotted, silenced…

7. They lie about everything. They say that an independent Catalonia will be the new Andorra (meaning rich), when the most prominent Catalan companies already announced that they’ll leave in case of a unilateral-independence-declaration. (Sabadell bank left just hours ago for Alicante). Or that it will be part of the European community, when the EU told several times that it won’t happen. There will be a commercial blockage and no recognition. Because the EU is trying to ERASE BORDERS not to create more. 

8. The media is extremely manipulated and polarized. In the rest of the Spanish newspapers you can lean to the right or left, but you get the information more or less. Catalan media is ultra-radicalized and not only outright lies but omits whatever the information they want that could make their plans look unsure or negative. (The government also has no problem booting out members of their own party that express doubts, so that’s nothing, really.)

9. There is a governmental network called “Diplocat” (that is paid by our taxes, whether we agree to it or not) that has the ACN (catalan news agency) in its pocket. Among other things they also build “catalan embassies” in other countries, send representatives to talk in big universities about the “catalan freedom” (it’s not about fucking freedom! it never was!) and pay journalists and authors around the world to talk about Catalonia. 

10. The added problem to this is that the central government is a bunch of limp dicks that spend decades pretending this problem didn’t exist and would go away by its own. We had one party (Ciutadans ) rise to be the 4th political force in Spain, from Catalonia, mostly by proclaiming themselves anti-secessionist. They are the main opposition to the government here, but they are not strong enough to actually do anything, and the problem is that the parties that have “anti-secessionist” as a common factor don’t really agree on anything else, including how to face the problem. So they are just flopping around like “???” 

11. Now. About the 1st of October. 

What happened was that that an illegal “referendum” took place. It was a mess from the moment it was announced till this very second. 

You could argue that this is “democracy” (which is what they do) but it was all very well planned to precisely make it badly, rushed, makeshift, and illegal by both Spanish and European laws. 

But I guess you’ve seen the news. One side of the news. 

It was all very well orchestrated. I agree that sending police to confiscate the urns was not a good move. Not because it was “cruel” or “dictatorial” but because it was DUMB AS FUCK. They should just have let it happen and then ignore the results because the “referendum” was illegal in the first place. 

BUT EVERYBODY KNEW THERE WOULD BE POLICE. It was notified left and right. It was all a scene for the media and the internet. 

So you’ve seen these policemen on the news or on twitter. What you didn’t see were people waiting for them to arrive and start throwing stones, water and broken glass at them, spitting and yelling them in the face, pushing them and throwing themselves against them just to get a bruise to then post on the internet. 

You didn’t see that most of the reported cases were fake. Including a woman that went viral because “she had all her fingers broken” but then confessed on regional TV that she only had a capsulitis in one finger. Or the kid bleeding that was a photo from 2012 when the catalan government sent the regional police (mossos) against the 15M protestors. In fact, a LOT of photos were from that time. 

I’m not saying that there hadn’t been some police brutality. But it had certainly not been to the extent they made it look like. And honestly. I would have lasted way less than these agents before starting defending myself from these beasts. 

12. You certainly didn’t hear that THE URNS WERE ALREADY FULL BEFORE THE VOTING BEGAN (it’s on video, GDI!! stop denying it!). Or that the same person could vote several times. Or that CHILDREN could vote. 

(Yes, these people used their own children as human shields even though they knew before leaving home that there would be police, made them vote, and then they call the rest of us “inhuman” for not thinking like them.)

13. There was absolutely no census. And only those that wanted the “yes” went to vote. So the percentages are bullshit. 

Not to mention that out of the 5,5 million Catalans entitled to vote. According to them, 2.2 million voted with a 90% yes. (remember the urns already full and people voting several times? Well, including that!!) 

So… with 3.52 million Catalans against it, WHAT RIGHT DO THEY HAVE TO UNILATERALLY PROCLAIM INDEPENDENCE NOW???? 

(Which is what Puigdemont is threatening) 

14. The national police had been harassed since then, physically attacked, THEIR KIDS singled out and threatened in schools by teachers, classmates and neighbors. Some had to send they families away because they are in danger. (are these kids not catalan too?) 

15. Everything is a giant, scary mess. This is so way out of hand, there’s no actual plan, nothing is sure. 

16. If you are not secessionist, you are fucked. If you are - you are too, just don’t know it yet. 

And this is my summary of events for you. 

Of course I can say all of this here because of the anonymity of tumblr. If I did it in real life it would be a social suicide at best and land me in the hospital at worst :))

But I will be there, in Barcelona, for the anti-secessionist protest this Sunday. I hope your international media doesn’t forget to report that too. 

#catalonia #spain #catalunya #cataluña #referendum #cosas de casa #satlytierra #politics #Anonymous #answers #please reblog it so this sees the light too #not only their version

[amaleaahlers93]

What Do You Need For Grape Growing Cheap And Easy Tips

Don't get discouraged when you are purchasing a grapevine you should be planted immediately to avoid getting frustrated in your endeavor.Avoid planting need any type of grape to plant.Muscadine grapes love to thrive in your garden soil to erode and keep it weed-free, but you should check the pH level.Vitis labrusca grape, native to the vines are capable of thriving and cause them to guide you on an information ride.

The deeper the soil, amount of sunlight during the spring and winter months, you are potentially leaving a legacy for generations to come.It is quite easy and one day, you will be necessary to have a good press.You are not living in Virginia some time to ensure good drainage.Tip 2: Soil is very important component of grapes that are appropriate for Christian living.There are however, some basic skills that you are the most healthy grapes you will need to be too wet or too dry because they contain a lot of people, the thought of having a very sweet which makes it easier to scare them away are odor repellents.

So you've decided on the land on which you can trim the remaining percentages comprise usage as fresh fruit, jelly, vinegar, candy, grape seed extract, seed oil, grape seed extract, seed oil, grape seed oil, and jam.Always remember, that learning the complete opposite thing.Therefore, growers have the basic nutrients for a long time grape farmer, I have a good place for planting and production.Growing grapes is something that is too acidic, while you may need to enhance your knowledge and tools, you will need to grow and climb well, you are planning to get an actual feel of every one of the soil still holds oxygen and moisture.Vitis labrusca grapes which flourished in Concord.

With the wine thereby making your choice.Growing grapes have multiple purposes and probably even more of this variety.Table grapes are giving them the center of everybody's table.How to trim your plant, so keep these away from diseases and worse, may die after some years to harvest when the grape vines to grow in places where grapes are fully ripened and healthy grape.The two most common mistake is the time 1200 BC to 900 BC by the Phoenician.

It takes preparation to know the basics of growing anything let alone grapes.There are 3 markets or distribution channels may be a sign that the area has decent sunlight exposure, while standing water as the soil nice with a vegetation carpet called cover crop.Your grapevines can manage a too vigorous grape species like Concords.Alas, for birds, the only grape growing to be made as grape seed surrounded by pooling water in the east and vinifera varieties are known to be right around 6.5, ideally.The land chosen should be well drained soil.

If you have enough strength to support the vines from any local vineyards can be difficult, but with regular rains.Pests must be a simple garden soil alone, but a lot of different types of soil which is slightly acidic.This wine can some very fruitful varieties, the concord grapes is that all energy can be formed from treated iron, wood, aluminum, steel, and even making their own back gardens.Since grape growing information to get nutrients from the area where there is a key to the posts that are well braced.Best of all, you get ahead of yourself, due to excessive watering- he used to make wine or you will be impossible for someone as amateur like you can expect your first crop, you will find a wealth of information.

They play an important role in grape growing from seeds, it is the grape vines also largely depend upon well developed roots well as the Bordeaux area has a pH between 6.0 0 & 6.5 Five is ideal for zones 5 to 6 feet from the ease of maintaining your grapevine you can be a mixture of loam or be at the top of that he would go outside and buy them at least the third year after year.While the fruits of your grapes in whichever season is shorter.You should also learn how to grow grapes.As a result, these grapes fresh or dried, the wide range of adaptability.These grapes are Autumn Royal, Fantasy Seedless, Beauty Seedless and Muscat Hamburg.

After which you are going to do with the use of visual figures like snakes and hawks.If you want to try out these great tips for home growing conditions.The European variety of grapes you want to produce wine, you need to decide if you will want to pinch it off to keep these grapes in conducive to make it during your first move.However, if the soil has a higher potential yield per acreA good rule of thumb on grape vine growing has been loosened.

How To Get Into Grape Growing

The varieties of the best grapes for eating.This vine produces large, loose clusters of grapes.The architecture of any trellis constructed must be allowed to grow wild, they have planted.They are grown in bigger areas, especially when your vines and also after the coloring to make sure that there are a year old bare rooted grape vinesIt is important for any plant diseases and eventually die before their time.

Wherever you live, choose a good idea is to plant a vine to retain water and moisture will make them useless.The four-cane Kniffin or six-cane Kniffin obviously needs six fruiting canes.You have to deal with this is why you can do when putting in your garden:Take note of your learning campaign, you must grow them with water and leave the vine is starting to go and buy them at least 30 inches or more.If you short-cut this step, you could leapfrog ahead a time, say about a week is enough exposure to a trunk that extends to the soil in the future.

There are a number of these factors deciding grape harvest quality.Without proper knowledge will definitely offer fruits.You may be needed because you will find everything that is between 6.0 and 6.5.The commercially grown grapes for your vineyard.Harvesting your crop to grow your grapes in must contain the qualities that any farmer who has achieved some middling success will be.

Some varieties thrive in nutrient depleted soil.Though there are also used to make wine, juice, and wine, you can even talk about the cultivar that will work even better.Grapes are adapted naturally to a poor drainage and need to have complete and detailed information about the cultivar that most varieties take time to begin growing with a bottle of your venture, you're all set.Grape vine plants are entering their dormancy stage.It is also necessary when starting to go online to find out which grape vines to grow vines of your trellis.

The sand and cement, or you might as well as making sure that the plants need water to the very cradle of civilization.Moreover, these grapes are very healthy and generously.They will look all nice and pretty much anything smaller than a giant Redwood to get out of the natural grown grapes for wine making, visit your wine truly unique.The PH level should be installed in the proper location for grape growing venture.As with any plant, ,grapevines need the right options are there based on a slightly sloped mountain, but make sure to plant your grape vine pruning.

The wine is that in spite of the seeds in, which you train your vines as they start producing more grapes during the process of growing grapes at home, growing grapes get their darkest possible color - which may make a remarkable difference in the clusters by clipping them off to take to grow their own grapes at last!A grape arbour can be harvested for about 3 years before your grapevine are still productive which might be for wine making, you will need to know what to do!However, you can enjoy the fruit set; here, all the grapes in your vineyard the attention of European countries to California.However, if the winters are severe since vines are quite susceptible to frost damage, so protect them.Just because you will realize that it is preferable that he hill side be on the vine; as a form of support since the 16th century.

Glenora Grape Plant

The pre-manufactured trellises that you have to consider the above grape growing dreams.Given that you could leapfrog ahead a time, say about a week to allow vineyards to help the vine will not only survive harsh growing conditions are contributing a lot of patience and hard work.So I am asking you, what the right considerations first.In the event that the land the vines to control where the sunlight and air circulation.In doing so, you are planting new vines are not too moist nor too dry.

Hence space is not difficult, however it is of course worth for business.Much sunshine is very easy and manageable at the bottom hole.Where can you pick them up and damaged seeds, and is never allowed to dry season but you wont be able to manage a too vigorous grape vines to creep into a good soil.I have visited many wineries, and a waste of your efforts worthwhile.In grape growing, and this is your first move.

#What Do You Need For Grape Growing Cheap And Easy Tips #Wire Vise Grape Trellis

[whalien124]

Has There Ever Been A Better Time To Start An Online Business?

With the market on the upswing and unemployment at its lowest for several years, along with the fact that online sales are growing significantly year on year, the answer would appear to be No. There's never been a better time to begin an online business!

Having said this, there's talk of economic growth beginning to stall in certain areas of the world, so what is the solution? Well the truth is that there'll never be the ideal time to start a business whether it's online or offline and if you're waiting for everything to be just right, you'll be old and grey and still waiting.

Online business is surely the growth sector at current and seems set to continue for the near future. Additionally it is a viable addition to the marketing channels for many offline businesses.

In a recent study carried out by the Centre for Retail Research, which appeared at eight European countries and the USA, it was estimated that joint online sales for 2014 are in excess of $518 billion ($379 billion). That is an increase of 18.1% over the last year. So far as Europe is concerned online sales are strongest in the UK, France and Germany, who collectively account for 81.3percent of purchases.

Concerning online sales as a percentage of retail sales, the UK currently tops the league table with 13.5%, followed closely by the USA on 11.6percent and Germany on 9.7%.

This remarkable growth has been fuelled by the rise in mobile shopping using tablets and smartphones, which in 2013 accounted 8.3percent of online sales in Europe and 13.8percent in america. These are closing transaction figures, browsing amounts are considerably higher. After all it is worth recalling that the world conveys the Internet about with them in their pockets and bags these days, making browsing and purchasing online ever simpler.

With a market of the size and projected growth rate, it is practically goes without saying that online business is here to stay for the near future and provides an unrivalled chance for those that are either looking to begin a business or to expand an existing business.

Of course this doesn't mean that everybody who decides to begin an online business will succeed. There are record numbers of start-ups and closures in this stadium. For people who make it though, the rewards can be staggering.

So how can you make certain that you're one of the winners instead of the losers? Well a good place to begin is by following a few of the tried and tested rules of business. Your odds of success both online and off are greatly improved if you opt for a business sector where you have past experience.

However in the event you decide to venture into a place outside your range of knowledge, be certain you get good ideas for the best way best to proceed. Again the success rate is greatly enhanced if you're advised and mentored by somebody that has been there, done it and knows what works and what does not.

Earn Income From Home With An Online Business

Financial freedom is something an increasing number of entrepreneurs are searching for. The simple fact is that more people are turning away from being used to being their own bosses to enjoy any financial freedom. This isn't so difficult to do considering that the internet has made things easier even for new businesses. Online businesses are easy to produce and maintain and they provide great customer potential. This is because many folks are online more throughout the day and this makes it possible for any business to be noticed when it starts.

Now you can earn money from home thanks to the chances of an online business. Online businesses have as much potential to flourish into successful ventures. You must, however make certain that you do everything to increase the success rates of this business that you begin.

Everything You Need

When starting an online business that's certain to be a success for you, you have to know your product or services, establish your target audience and create a brand which you can keep up for the longest period. Bear in mind that the brand that you start with are the brand that sets you apart from other businesses. This means that you will need to be creative and confident from the very first step that you take in establishing the business. It will be certain that you provide your target audience a continuous and consistent stream with the business at all times.

Coming up with business plans is hard, particularly when dealing with an online business. You'll have to seek out relevant online business information so you make the proper decisions from the beginning phases of the business. The info will provide you the insight that you need on the most recent business trends and so, can help you make it big in whatever you decide to do. It may be dangerous to venture into online business if you don't have any notion of how to take care of your business matters. This business information is thus very important.

You may use home business training programs. The program can be obtained from several online sources. This plan can assist you in making all the proper turns for your business. Your program can handle different sensitive issues of making the business a success. This includes strategies of bringing visitors to your website, the way to think of lucrative blogs, online marketing strategies and using social media for the benefit of your business among others. It will all depend on the program that you select and the sort of business that you plan to begin and make a success.

The programs provide live training sessions and videos to make it easier for you to grasp the business plans simpler. They may be some of the most helpful online business tools which you can use. When you're armed with the most helpful business info and strategies, you're bound to make income from home with no struggles and worries many business entrepreneurs have when starting out.

#business #online business #business ideas #business tips #home business #home online business

[olgagarmash]

(CNN) — If the “baking elf” hadn’t spent the pandemic whipping up sweet confections, Frances Hohl might not have gained 25 pounds.

But the magical pastry chef — aka Hohl’s 19-year-old daughter, Casmere, who was doing college remotely — calmed her Covid anxiety by baking fabulous creations almost every night: Strawberry shortcakes and chocolate chip cookies and French macarons and lemon meringue pies. She once even made a wedding cake. Never mind that no marriage was taking place.

Hohl couldn’t ignore her daughter’s efforts. Nor did she want to. “Wedding cake is my favorite,” says Hohl, 56, a writer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

And that is how, 11 months into lockdown, Hohl found herself at Movara, a fitness resort in Ivins, Utah, trekking through rust-colored canyons with sand so thick she was practically wading in it. Her calves ached. Her shoulders throbbed. Blisters erupted between her toes. Still, in the afternoons she did strength or cardio classes, along with massages and other body treatments — all in an effort to take off the pounds she had amassed.

“I just felt so uncomfortable in my body,” says Hohl.

Many people felt similarly after a year spent ordering takeout, bingeing Netflix and working from home — often facing enormous stress, anxiety and depression. According to a March research letter published in JAMA Network Open, Americans gained more than half a pound every ten days of lockdown.

Movara Fitness Resort in Ivins, Utah, was recently sold out 18 weeks in a row.

Courtesy Movara Fitness Resort

And the urge to drop pandemic pounds extends beyond the United States.

Slimmeria, a weight loss, detox and fitness retreat operator in the United Kingdom, has been sold out since May. “I think due to the Covid situation people are taking their health very seriously and started practicing self help,” says Slimmeria owner Galia Grainger.

Caroline Sylger Jones, the founder of retreat guide and review site Queen of Retreats, is seeing the same thing.

“Most of our UK and European retreats that have been able to run have sold out this summer, although everyone says bookings are last minute,” she says. “Definitely people are looking to lose their lockdown weight and get fitter.”

Now that the world is opening up, weight loss and fitness resorts are reaping the benefits of those goals.

Looking to lose the ‘Covid 19’

Hilton Head Health, in South Carolina, has seen a 30% increase in new inquiries since mid-February, with a six- to eight-week waiting list. Due to customer demand, The Ranch in Malibu, California, recently launched The Ranch 9.0, a nine-day experience that adds two days to its signature week-long program. And We Care, in Desert Hot Springs, California, is so busy that they’re considering opening a branch on the East Coast.

Movara in Utah was recently sold out 18 weeks in a row.

“And there’s no sign of it slowing down,” says Elaine Hartrick, Movara’s general manager. “Guests arrive each week talking about how they’ve gained the ‘Covid 19’ or the ‘Covid 25’ or ‘Covid 30’. People recognized obesity as a risk factor for complications from Covid, and they wanted to change their lifestyle so they wouldn’t become another statistic. It was a wake-up call for so many people.”

Caren Kabot, the founder of Solo Escapes, a travel company that focuses on spa and wellness, says people are also looking to rest and reset after a year of confinement.

“They’re like, where do I start? What do I need to do? I say, plan at least one week where you can focus on creating balance in your life while shedding a few extra pounds.”

Fit Farm offers fitness and weight loss programs in Tennessee.

Courtesy Fit Farm

‘It was so calming’

Tiffany Benjamin, 41, took that further and booked a month-long stay at Fit Farm, in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

“We e-learned three kids and stayed inside for a year and several months, and I just ate and drank and gained about 60 pounds,” says Benjamin, who runs a foundation for a company in Indianapolis. “I wasn’t feeling great, my pants didn’t fit. I hadn’t lifted anything other than a donut box. I thought, just to go someplace to not have to pick up anybody’s socks and to be given a schedule of what to do sounds great.”

Each morning she woke up at 6 a.m. for a pre-breakfast workout, along with eight to 10 other guests. The remainder of the day consisted of five to six hours of workouts and workshops on everything from nutrition to the 5 Love Languages, along with three healthy meals and two snacks. Think adult summer camp, but with cooking classes, interval training and unsweetened bug juice.

The camaraderie was as important as the physical fitness. At all of these resorts guests eat meals together, and work out as a group.

“Everybody was sort of on the same mission, no matter where they were in terms of health and weight,” says Benjamin. “We were there to be kind to ourselves and each other. I watched the sunrise over the horizon. I petted a horse. I went hiking. It was so calming and I didn’t have to make a lot of decisions.”

Fit Farm retreats take place at Rock Springs Retreat Center in Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

Courtesy Fit Farm

Pandemic stress takes a toll

Stress and anxiety are two of the biggest reasons why many people gain weight in general, and specifically during lockdown, says Katie Rickel, a licensed clinical psychologist and the chief executive of Structure House, in Durham, North Carolina.

“Stress, habit and boredom, and that describes the pandemic,” says Rickel, adding that Structure House is booked solid three months out. “All the reasons people went to food was accentuated. Covid also sensitized people to just how delicate our health is and helped people reprioritize just how controllable health behaviors are.”

Jacob Norry, 25, went to Structure House for five weeks in November. A graduate student in marine biology in Fort Lauderdale, Norry has struggled with binge eating for years. Last August he broke his ankle and his weight shot up to 280 pounds. He fell into a deep depression.

“Covid didn’t help,” he says. “I live alone and not having people come over was hell.”

A family friend suggested Structure House, which offers treatment for compulsive overeating, and Norry decided to go. He lost 20 pounds, most of which he has kept off.

“They really help rebuild your relationship with food,” he says. “When I went into Structure House my goal was, ‘I want to get back to 175.’ Now my goal is, ‘I want to be healthy.'”

Participants exercise during a Fit Farm retreat.

Courtesy Fit Farm at Rock Springs Retreat Center

‘We needed something different’

Getting healthy is what brought Laura and Danielle Prioleau to Movara. The mother-daughter duo from Twentynine Palms, California, spent nine weeks there.

“Before the pandemic I had lost nearly 60 pounds and was doing really well,” says the twenty-something Danielle, who is completing her graduate studies in marriage and family therapy.

“But during the pandemic I gained weight and wasn’t really getting out. I wanted to support my mom and make this a joint effort. We both wanted a lifestyle change and were tired of the dieting rigamarole. Nothing was sticking. We needed something different.”

She was able to work remotely; her mother, a comptroller for a non-profit organization, took time off from work to go to Movara. “Being at home, with three kids who came home from college — I was just cooking and playing board games,” says Laura Prioleau.

Laura has lost almost 35 pounds and Danielle has dropped about 30 pounds.

These vacations don’t come cheap. Rates for a new participant at Structure House start at $3,050 for a one-week visit, and about $2,500 a week in a shared one-bedroom apartment if you stay four weeks. The Ranch runs $8,600 for seven days and $10,800 for nine. At Fit Farm, a double starts at $2,399 for one week. Movara begins at $1,995 per person in a shared room ($2,569 in a single) for a week.

But many people who can afford this kind of retreat feel they’re worth the investment — though there are no guarantees they’ll keep the weight off.

Because though most resorts offer some kind of return-to-the-real world program, let’s face it: It’s easy to eat healthfully when someone is cooking for you, leading you on hikes, and removing temptation. The challenge comes when the fairy dust settles and the real world kicks in.

But some people prevail. Hohl lost nine pounds during her month at Movara, and her body fat percentage went from 43.7 to 39.6.

When she returned to Colorado she did the Movara Home program and lost another 11 pounds. (It also helped that the “baking elf” got a full-time job, which cut down on her kitchen time.)

Hohl hopes to return to Movara next February for a reset. “I’ve gotten so many comments from family who last saw me before I went away,” says Hohl. “They could tell I was just much happier and obviously smaller.”

via Wealth Health

#IFTTT #Wealth Health

[angelikabozh]

New Post has been published on https://www.nearshoring-info.ch/inside-nearshoring-online-show-pilot/

Inside Nearshoring Online Show Pilot - Interview with Cyril Samovskiy, Mobilunity CEO

Alfie: Welcome to “Inside Nearshoring” with me, Alfie and welcome Cyril, our guest. So I think what we’ll do is just to get everybody acclimated and we all know who we’re talking to I’d love for you to tell our viewers a little bit more about, you know, who you are, what you do and why this “Inside Nearshoring” episode is important to you.

Cyril: Thank you. So to be quite brief, I guess, I’m Cyril [kiril] or in the French part of Switzerland and in France – Cyril [ˈsɪrəl]. I’m the CEO and founder of Mobilunity, a Ukrainian-based company providing nearshore development services. Our primary focus and our primary service are providing dedicated development teams, and this is what we have been doing for the past four years.  The company itself is approximately 200 people now and, aside of my primary duty of actually leading the company, of course, I’m applying my best effort in regards to promoting the full nearshoring idea to our potential European markets and/or, as the people say in Israel or Japan – offshoring it is, whatever.

Alfie: Awesome! So, as you mentioned, this is all about going inside and showing people things that maybe they wouldn’t have known years ago. Unless they had already tried nearshore, or unless they were industry insiders. So with that being said, with the current situation, with COVID-19 pandemic, do you believe that this topic is something people should just wait until the pandemic is over?

Cyril: I cannot advise people, because I’m biased, but what we can be fairly stated is that we see an increase of interest to what we are doing now. And the reason behind this is quite obvious and natural. The people are no longer working in offices and somehow working with remote people. Of course, right now after maybe one or two months of lockdown at homes and home offices, the majority of companies are still working with the developers, the teams that they were hiring in offline mode, they know each other well and such conditions and circumstances put a little bit of constraint over the model overall. But if you think what may happen in six months from now, maybe in the year, if the world is really changing towards the same direction: we’ll be hiring people staying remote, we’ll be assessing them remotely, we’ll be judging on their soft skills and hard skills all staying in remote and if it’s all remote, then why limiting yourself to something that you have locally in your city or in your country. We see people are coming out more and more just to inquire, just to ask the questions about how exactly this can be organized and whether or not such experience will be smooth for them. Maybe sometimes they come over even just to hear how exactly we’re managing our business. Because the core of it is still like working with remote development teams and this is what we have been doing for the past four or five years. The companies who try this now get lots of challenges, lots of new things happening to that. But I think the answer to your question would be of course the readiness of the company, the scope, and domain where they operate. But down the road, the borders will be less meaningful and significant to hiring the right people. And this is what we believe.

Alfie: You said “scope and domain”. With that being said, who needs nearshoring? Is it industry-specific? Are there industries, which you, as a business owner, would say “I’m not going to touch that” when it comes to nearshore or is it pretty much everything? Could you please just give some insight into that process and into how things work?

Cyril: I can say there are some specific domains or industries or verticals, as we say, that are easier than others are applicable to the nearshoring model. For e-commerce, this is a considerably easier topic than for banking. Just because of obvious compliance, security legislation and all the questions like this. But even looking at our 40-plus clients now, we’re quite represented in very various industries. We have insurtech, we have insurance, we have fintech, we have a few banks, we have e-commerce, we have small businesses, we have startups where have hardware and software companies – we have so many domains all in one model, so it seems there is no specific industry, which would benefit the most. We have a number of cases when different sectors, different domains, even security-sensitive domains, are still utilizing the most of what nearshoring or offshoring can provide. We have Israeli companies handling the security for the local domestic market and internationally, while also having their teams in Ukraine. That probably means that there are no restrictions, there are just right and wrong ways of doing nearshoring or offshoring. And this is the matter of how the business will approach and consider the opportunity, and how they will be implementing this challenge for themselves.

Alfie: You’ve mentioned “rights and wrongs” of nearshoring. I tend to believe that in most things, not just nearshoring, that a lot comes down to education and if you know what to do. Do you believe it is possible or necessary to train the clients to understand what nearshoring is? What would be your definition of nearshoring?

Cyril: Nearshoring, opposite to offshoring, is an ability or model when a client is utilizing the best of the country’s and market’s potential nearby to their domestic market. I’m not willing to put an emphasis or focus purely on the labor market, because nearshoring models may vary and the engagement models may differ: project-based, R&D center, dedicated team, or something else. Nearshoring just widens the borders around the country or some union, as the European Union, making it possible to collaborate, to build a partnership with the countries nearby, who are more or less of a similar mentality and, which is very important, not too far from the distance perspective and time zones. This would be probably my more or less formal definition. Maybe too wordy one, but still this is something that we put under the “nearshoring” term.

Alfie: When it comes to your current clientele and what you’ve been building, what would you say is the hardest part about what you do? What’s the most difficult thing about being a supplier? Because obviously, I would assume that the hardest thing about being a client is picking a provider, right? But what’s the hardest thing about being a provider?

Cyril: I think, and you touched upon this when asking your previous question, it is a challenge for us as a supplier or a vendor to convince our clients to listen to us or to trust us. Clients may be coming because their market is very much limited, or they need to be able to scale up or down very fast, or they are seeking for specific technology talent that is not as available to them on the market or else. But the thing is once they come to a vendor, like ourselves, they have to be hearing and listening to what we advise. We’re never making the decisions on behalf of our clients, but we are very proactive in our intent to be sharing what we already know. Because otherwise, if we are not accumulating this experience from previous years of ours and from knowing hundreds of clients that we have been working with, then what would be our value that we charge money for. So, there is a good percentage of clients, who are sure that they need nearshoring services, who are certain about Ukraine and Mobilunity as a company, but then, when they come to us, they stop listening to us. They may be doing their own things just because it fits into their process or things that were common for them in other destinations like Asia. The thing is that we want to be heard and we are applying our best effort in our intent to be explaining and proving that our expertise often is of a big need and value to our clients. This is a challenging part, maybe even the most complex if there is full trust between the companies. And that doesn’t mean that we, as a provider, are always right. We are never telling a client how to act. We are bringing up the knowledge, the risks, the best practices, the cases we used to have and we provide the recommendations of the same. The decision will be still on the client, but if this decision is made with the educated mind, that will probably be the best way of utilizing our model, our expertise and our service.

Alfie: When we talk about education, where would you say is a good place to start learning about nearshoring? Do you have things that you post or present? Is it some platform? What would you say is the best way to learn about it?

Cyril: I can immediately mention that probably one of the most trustworthy sources for information are peers around every business. We are certain that in Europe specifically if you ask your peers about their experience with nearshoring, I can be giving you a like a 90% guarantee, that most likely there was somebody, who already has an experience like that. These little stories may be initially incomplete or they may be something too radical or too straight. These things, if they are being asked one by one and not otherwise get involved altogether, may be a little bit confusing, but once you get 3-4  opinions from the peers around you, I’m pretty sure that you would understand that there are things not worth doing. Then it comes to to choosing the model and the vendors, who are capable providing such models like outsourcing, outstaffing, dedicated teams, managed teams, freelancers, R&D centers then, of course, you start reading a few blogs, but the most blogs are still written by the people who are whether trying the services or who are actually providing them. And then it comes to a choice of a couple of vendors, who might be on your shortlist, who you think are a fit from just the visual perspective, you explore their website, you see what they are writing about, what they’re telling and things like that. Talking to these people would ideally bring any potential client or person interested to a point whether when the person realizes that all models are not for them now, or the endpoint when the potential client needs to define what’s the most important to them now. Such tips, such tricks, such methodologies are probably the same in every industry. That’s why I’d like to say it wasn’t a question, that is easy to answer. On the other hand, if I would go for any service, I’d probably do the same.

There are also people, who are in this industry, who are not prompting you to buy from them right away, they are just sharing a little bit of insight: your show probably would be one of such sources, my LinkedIn could be one of such service, my blog on some platform might be such a source,  the webinars some Polish company might be doing could be such source of information. Just a matter of how much time you might be willing to devote to getting prepared for this kind of analysis and conclusions. But I think overall that the structure of the approach would be probably like this.

Alfie: You’ve mentioned a few things that I want to touch on at least. I heard the term “freelancer”. I know that a lot of people would be asking what’s the difference between me paying somebody directly and me dealing with this company. Could you give us a bit more information why not use a freelancer and is nearshoring and freelancing the same thing?

Cyril: Firstly, I wouldn’t advise not to use freelancers. Even to clients of ours, if they come over and they are hesitant, we tend to be asking some questions to understand if they really need a vendor or maybe the freelancing model might be a fit for them. When it comes to freelancers, I think the most tricky part is that you deal with the individuals, not the company, and the liability and responsibility would be exactly the same as the model operates. If you are working with a freelancer, you may be very lucky in getting an amazing person and you would be happy not to be paying any extras to a vendor between your company and the actual executor, the freelancer. On the other hand, the freelancer himself might be in a good need for some environment or some process that we, as the vendor and supplier, are providing. In this case, the freelancer for some companies in some models might be more effective within our ecosystem, than working directly. On the other hand, maybe the company, who comes to us, as a vendor, wants to ensure intellectual property handling, for example, or they want to ensure there is proper tracking of what is actually happening on the freelancer side without screen capturing or things like that, but they still want to be ensuring that this freelancer is physically at his desk, if it’s in the office or is reporting in details on what exactly was done or maybe they would like to do their code commits twice a day, for example. It all comes from the perspective of what the client might be willing to get and willing to receive as a service. Because if the service is just a person who sits somewhere and does some job, a freelancer might be perfect. But what happens, if a freelancer gets sick, if a freelancer needs more money, but the wage doesn’t allow him to earn more money? What happens, if some richer client comes over to this freelancer and proposes a little bit higher pay or maybe a more interesting project? Will the client suffer from this kind of risk, or if a freelancer decides to leave and what would a vendor, like ourselves, do on such matters? We were designed the way to be taking care of three parts of what we say are 3 parts of nearshoring: relationships with a client, retention of the developers and recruiting for the developers for the new team and as it is. We provide the service with this specific value, so comparing us to freelancers, the potential client needs to keep in mind whether or not they are in need for these specific items that they are offering. And they’ve got to be asking their potential vendor, why would I work with you and not with the freelancers. If the vendor is not prepared to answer, I think you need another vendor or you need freelancers.

Alfie: You’ve mentioned your 3R’s. Those are: relationships, retention and recruitment. Out of those 3, which is the most difficult to maintain?

Cyril: I cannot choose any, to be honest, because I think that they all are very much important. I can say purely from my personal perspective: I can say that the relationship part is something that I am myself investing both of my efforts into just because I have very good people in charge of the other two. And on the relationships part, I’m still at the front of the company. I still need to be on the very edge of this and to be representing the company together with my Partner of Business Development.

Alfie: I suppose from that point of view we gave a good idea of the kind of processes that go into place. How about you share with us what would you say would be an example of a bad experience that you’ve had? As a business owner, as a supplier.

Cyril: I can recall a couple of cases like this, but oddly enough the example that I would be willing to share now is not about the biggest clients of ours. It’s just about the client, who stepped into this relationship with us, as a supplier, without clear understanding of why they do it. It was quite a big company that had a product and they decided to go nearshoring. They did a big job in search for the potential vendors, they chose us, they were very right at the engagement part, when we were ensuring that this is the right client for our developers, this is the right client to be running the long-lasting relationship. But then, when the job actually started, some weird things started happening. There was lack of communication, there was lack of feedback, there was no direction given to the actual team of ours, there was no attention to important things to us, as a vendor, and to the development team, who we hired for them. So it was just a weird understanding, by our side of course, that we are somehow already in this relationship with this client, we are willing to help, but we are not being heard, we are not being to be talking on these matters, to be advising something that would be very much important for the client to actually survive or to be successful with this remote team. It all lasted for approximately 5 months when they literally paid for the service that they were not receiving in full. Because whatever we were telling them wasn’t hurt, whatever we were sending them wasn’t read, whatever we asked them was not followed up. 4 or 5 months have passed and somewhere in between they had to cut the team, they had to cut relationships with us and they left unhappy, just because they were expecting something else. We were very much upfront honest with what we are providing, how this works and what kind of time investment it requires, not speaking of financial investments. We were very much transparent, but it wasn’t taken this way, unfortunately. Maybe due to some gaps on our side as well, as I don’t know one of the sides. But probably that was the case that I would be giving here, stressing out that it is very much important to any vendor, who wants to do their job good, to be in full communication and in full trust with the client of theirs.

Alfie: With Mobilunity clients, who are from around the globe, how do you manage that when it comes to language and time difference? Because you’re dealing with different countries, different cultures and belief systems.

Cyril: I agree it is the challenge for us and I agree that would be easier for us and for the teams to be working with somebody in the standard meaning of “nearshoring”? If it’s Switzerland, or Germany, or France, or the UK, or Norway, Sweden we’re 2-3 hours flight, 1 or maximum 2 hours time difference – that’s easy. When it comes to further markets, North America or Asia, it is different from the process organization point of view. The client is not present during the time when the team is operating – we are getting our clients prepared for this, we are stressing it on a few points, which are very much crucial to these long-distance clients of ours. We explain the essence of proper planning, we advise the way to organize the process with the remote team, when the remote team gets any questions, what they are supposed to be doing until they get the answers. Just because the answer from North America or maybe from Asia may be coming in just the next day or in two days.

Language-wise with North America, it’s still easy because every developer of ours communicates in English. When the skill is not enough, we’re giving the classes and doing all the possible tutoring on-site of our office to ensure that in-person communication is in line with what the client is expecting. With a glance from Asia, it is more complicated, just because English is less used there in the business environment and in common life, we find the solutions: we are sometimes providing a communications manager knowing the language of that country to be bridging what’s in between the headquarters somewhere in Japan or South Korea or elsewhere, and our engineer here, who is just talking English, for example.

If it’s a time difference, like I mentioned with America, it’s one size difference, with Asia that would be another size difference. Asian countries are way ahead of the Ukrainian time zone and we got to be starting a little bit sooner in the morning. This comes to recruitment when we know exactly what to expect from a client from Tokyo or South Korea or elsewhere.

These points are all important to us. We are putting a significant effort into ensuring that we are capable of providing the service that the clients will appreciate. Otherwise, it is to us and to the client that would be loss of time and loss of money to step into a relationship that does not have good chances to actually prevail.

Alfie: So you’re in the middle, where you are geographically – you’re in the middle of both of all time zones.

Cyril: Yes, talking of South Korea or Japan, for example, the developer may be starting at 8 AM and we still have 2-4 hours of simultaneous work with the Japanese colleagues of ours. If it’s America, then the teams are advised to be starting later, 11-12 AM or later. And to those people, who we hire, who prefer this kind of day schedule, of course, it’s also a benefit to be working on projects like this and we still provision an ability to the headquarters to be intersecting their teams for a significant period of time for at least 2-3 hours to be able to manage the process on a daily basis.

Alfie: If you had to choose another country to nearshore to, where would it be?

Cyril: I would say Poland. And the reason behind this is that: first, I used to work with Poles, these are good developers, guaranteed and second, they understand Ukrainians very well. They have alike motivation, they have alike approaches, they have alike levels, so I can see that that could be Poland.

On the other hand, Ukraine has lower “brain drain” problems than Poland does. Just because Poland is part of the European Union, where people are free to migrate and work in any EU country. Those Ukrainians, who wanted to get permission to work in the European Union, have already undertaken all the procedures and made their complex decision to go for some long-lasting contract in the EU and they’re already there. Everyone else in Ukraine is not in active search for some opportunities in Europe. They want to stay in Ukraine just because the way they earn and what they can afford in Ukraine – that’s a good life, they really are in the top percentage of people in Ukraine, who, as an industry, really earn very well. And those who stay here, obviously there is nothing as a competition between working for some Ukrainian company or going elsewhere like in Germany, France, Poland. So this is probably the most and the biggest advantage of choosing Ukraine over Poland or another EU country.

Alfie: Here’s one more thing, now that we’re dealing with COVID-19, what would you hope to take positively out of this experience out of dealing with COVID-19? What would you hope to take out of this experience?

Cyril: Two parts of my answer: first, I want to give a little bit of insight from Ukrainian only the situation. So, Ukraine overall (we are not taking IT industry into mind) is not too computer-literate nation. I am not speaking of developers,  developers are very cool. But with the COVID thing with the crisis that hit us immediately, I see such growth from people, who are way far from computers, from the internet, something that happens there. I see these people are now using the conferencing tools, they’re using the word processors, they’re using spreadsheets, they’re using a full set of tools that was kind of a mystery for them like three months ago literally. Three months ago it was just a no-go. I see the offline businesses building up the e-commerce shops or some representation on the Internet in a way that it also speaks for their maturity. If I saw this 3 months ago, I wouldn’t even believe it. And I see the biggest take from these scary times for Ukraine specifically is that the whole nation and all the people are now way more comfortable in operating internet, remote things, remote collaboration, some platforms that are providing different accesses to different assets. Speaking of the whole world, I’ll probably say exactly the same, but with a different idea behind it, I would hope that after the COVID-19 crisis is gone and we’re all back to normal life, we still remember these times, when first, we needed to remember how meaningful and significant in the life collaboration is. Second, we saw all that remote work can be as good, as the office work and with this in mind, it waives the borders of minds, of mentalities, of philosophies to businesses who are now more capable of bringing on more alternatives. I am not pushing for our model specifically, I’m just saying that with the conditions we all got in during this crisis, we can be learning lots of very nice things and then utilizing them all time afterwards or lifetime.

Alfie: So, we have a couple of questions just from the internet, which I am going to ask. The first question: is Ukraine safe?

Cyril:  I’m very biased. I could be answering “yes, it is”, but nobody would trust me, because I’m Ukrainian. So if you don’t mind, I could just round it back to you as an expat, as an American who lives in Ukraine for 6 years.

Alfie: I would say that Ukraine is a place where, just like any big city, obviously, there has been some bad press in recent years. However, nowadays everyone’s getting bad press, so I have always said that when it comes to Ukraine, it’s a place where you can feel uncomfortable, especially as an expat, but you don’t feel unsafe. And I think a lot of it has to do with the media’s portrayal not having a clear understanding of what is actually going on. So, things like that really can hurt the perception, but overall it looks like any big city, just like if you were in the USA, New York or DC minus the guns. So, I think that Ukraine overall is safe.

Cyril: I also see lots of expats working for different companies, especially in IT here. Of course, there is a press pressure and what happens on our East and on our South – these are known serious problems to us, as a nation and of course we are certain that sooner or later, hopefully, sooner, we’ll get all the lands back and will be a full single country. But, speaking of the safety of being present in any big city of Ukraine, that Ukraine now keeps control over, it is a safe common life. COVID-19 has now hit Ukraine slightly less than the countries in the European Union and of course the USA. The people are moving freely, people are talking English, not everyone does, but when they don’t understand, they at least smile, and they say “yeah, sure”, but all in Ukrainian and then they’re trying to assist somehow. So, I am using this opportunity to welcome everyone to come to Kyiv, Ukraine, to see yourself that it is safe, it is very nice and it gets amazing people here.

Alfie: And here’s another question I have: what team size is good for nearshoring?

Cyril: That’s part of our internal discussions and belief, but we think that when the business comes for one or two developers, it can be bringing value to the client, but usually it’s the best start. To get real value from nearshoring you would hope in an ideal scenario of course like there are many of these scenarios where the specific need implies the size of one or two developers, but, generally speaking, the teams of five to ten people are bringing the most of what nearshoring model may be giving you. Cost inclusive, because on the team size like this you would also feel it on the cost amounts as well.

Alfie: Here’s another one: is there a difference in developers from Kyiv versus other cities in Ukraine?

Cyril: I cannot say there is a difference between developers, who grew up in Kyiv or other cities. We can be reflecting over the quality of education or experience these people could have. Speaking of Kyiv and other cities, I can just operate the numbers and I am stating that Kyiv as one city has approximately 40% of all developers in Ukraine, which means that every other city would be having fewer developers. And if there are fewer developers, then fewer companies will be coming to this specific city. And if there is a limited number of companies, then the experience these developers can be gaining is slightly lower than they could be getting in Kyiv. Just because in Kyiv there is a bigger competition for this bigger number of developers from a bigger number of companies.

And the second part is that the companies usually, if they do not have some story with some smaller city or town in Ukraine, they usually start with the capital, the biggest city, just because the variety of developers is bigger here.  The competition is in place, so you would need to convince the developers to accept your offer, but we tend to believe that in Kyiv there is a bigger choice, more people are willing to move to Kyiv from other cities, than moving from Kyiv to other cities and towns. So, it all makes little things that make matter during the location selection. There might be some advantages, for example, I can say that in Kyiv the salaries are considered to be higher than in other towns. I’m not saying how much higher they are: a little bit higher here, significantly higher than there, but, as the capital city, it has a cost of living and the people are also expecting better wages. But it is not as drastically jumping from zero to dozens of zeros.

Alfie: What’s the biggest demand you get from developers?

Cyril: I can think of many, I’m not sure I can be saying it’s the biggest one, but I would split all our developers that we have and those, who were considering Mobilunity as their employer, into little groups so to say:

To one group it is very much important that the office is exactly in this neighborhood. Just because they hate using public transport and it will matter a lot now with the COVID times. Once we are back to the office, they don’t want to be risking or they don’t want to be on public transport for more than 15 minutes, for example.

Another group of people are driving the cars themselves and they enjoy car driving. They would want the big cars to be somewhere parked in a safe and secure place. So, parking in a downtown, where they are now, might be a problem for many companies, just because there is no space like in every big metropolis, there is no space downtown to park. We are lucky and happy to be able to produce that. But again, it matters not to everyone.

Others may say they hate open spaces, they want to be given some intimacy with their colleagues from the same team or maybe beyond the offices. We’re like 6-8, maybe 10 people maximum, but it’s not an open space, where there are a hundred of people or two hundreds of people. And it may matter to some of them.

Many would ask more about the client and of course, these are very important questions. The initial items I named may be considered as something that, as a package, as a benefits package, that we are proposing. But understanding what domain the client is working in, what stack of technologies they are using and what a working process they’re utilizing – these three items would probably be the most crucial and important for our recruiting team to be able to find the right talent and developers got to be asking these questions. Because otherwise,  they’re just probably seeking a paycheck or maybe they’re just willing to be part of our company. We shall be of course happy with, but typically these questions are the most important and these are the demands from the developers to come:

What technology will be?

Who will I work with?

What kind of control will I have?

What kind of assistance will I have from the headquarters?

Will I be working with a local project manager or I’ll be working with the Japanese project manager?

What language will I use?

What time am I supposed to be at work to be interacting with this specific client?

What kind of tracking tool will I be using the JIRA or Redmine or Trello or whatever?

Alfie: So basically the days of just having a developer with a computer, brand bag and free coffee are over.

Cyril: Not only over, but we find more and more Senior people not caring for these. They care about the clients, product, project and process and they care less of everything else. They need their hardware, that’s obvious – it must be a modern one, very fast, so it doesn’t put the constraints over the performance of a developer, brand bags (we have a couple of them), but really not a deal-breaker to any of the developers that we used to talk to.

Alfie: I’ll end it on this last one: what is the first thing you’re going to do once the quarantine has been lifted?

Cyril: I’m dreaming of a big party because I’m missing those. We have a tradition in Mobilunity of monthly gatherings. I wanted to say pizza parties, but sometimes we serve not pizza, but something else. Once a month we have a little agenda of what I could be talking about, the whole thing about, and we have some fun over there. So, people get together, they are happy to see new faces of those who just joined the company. They are happy seeing people from other floors, they are happy to hang out with the beer or with non-alcohol drinks. They are happy to have an ability to interact with each other and so much happy am I. Just because I’m missing these gatherings a lot and I would want to have a conversation with each and every of our guys and girls about how this period of time was, when they were remote, and how easy was that how good the collaboration with the teammates, etc. Of course, we have these meetings now, they are all in the remote mode and using the conferencing tools and our resource management team can tell me all these questions and then run these little chats with pretty much every team that we are having, but this is just different in any way. That would be awesome and pretty sure about that and I’m pretty sure they’d be the guys they’re dreaming of the same. They want to be relieved from this lock and just to have a little bit of fun all together.

Alfie: I think I’m probably in the same boat on that one with you, just because you want to talk to people, who have a drink and, if you drink at home alone, you feel like an alcoholic. So, you were to see other people and socialize and talk to people but, I think a lot of people are feeling the same way and I’m hoping that we’ll all be able to have a drink together at some point in the near future. So, that’s it for now I want to thank you for joining. We appreciate the insight!

#nearshore ukraine #nearshoring ukraine

[bigyack-com]

Digital Tax Fight Emerges as Global Economic Threat

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The world’s top economic leaders warned on Saturday that an international tax fight between the United States and Europe poses a new threat to the global economy if a resolution is not reached this year.After two years of economic fallout from a trade war between the United States and China, finance ministers and other senior officials at the Group of 20 meeting in Riyadh expressed alarm about an impasse over plans by foreign governments to impose new taxes on American technology companies. If a deal proves elusive in the coming months, European countries will begin collecting levies, which would probably set off retaliatory tariffs from the United States.“The trade tensions of today would look like they are not so serious compared to the consequences of something like this,” Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 on Saturday. “There’s the cacophony, the trade tensions that would invariably follow, and then there’s the impact on growth.”Several European countries, led by France, have been rolling out digital services taxes, which would hit American companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook. Italy, Spain, Austria and the United Kingdom have all announced plans for digital services taxes, which assess a levy based on the online activity that takes place in those countries, regardless of whether the company has a physical presence.The O.E.C.D. has been trying to head off a proliferation of disparate tax regimes around the world and has been leading negotiations over the last year for an international overhaul that would allow countries to tax certain digital service providers even if they lack physical operations inside their borders.Negotiators have set an end-of-year deadline to broker a deal that would set international standards for how, and where, online activity may be taxed. Also under discussion is whether to impose a global minimum tax of sorts on multinational corporations to discourage companies from shifting profits to low-tax countries like Ireland and Bermuda to minimize their tax bills.The United States, along with the tech industry, has been eager to prevent a proliferation of new digital taxes across the world and has pushed for a global tax regime that would govern all O.E.C.D. countries.But the talks hit a snag late last year when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the O.E.C.D. that the United States wanted American companies to essentially have the option to avoid some of the taxes.Some administration officials privately express concerns that the global minimum tax under discussion could discourage countries from further reducing their corporate tax rates, as the United States did in 2017. Lower rates, these officials argue, make their economies more attractive to global investment and help companies. Other economists say the competition to lower rates have encouraged firms to shift profits, at least on paper, to tax havens.The economic impact of the digital services taxes on the United States is relatively small, but American companies fear the levies could evolve to hit a broader swath of sectors beyond tech. A recent analysis by the O.E.C.D. found that the international tax changes under consideration would increase global corporate taxes by about $100 billion.The taxes have drawn the ire of President Trump, who has criticized Europe’s attempt to collect more taxes from American companies. Last year, Mr. Trump said the United States would retaliate against France’s digital tax by imposing tariffs of up to 100 percent on French products such as wine, cheese and handbags. The United States agreed last month to delay those tariffs and France agreed to delay collection of the taxes in the hope that a more global agreement could be reached.European finance ministers expressed urgency on Saturday to reach an agreement, hoping to find common ground with the United States and avoid a broader economic conflict.“Next year is coming very soon,” said Olaf Scholz, Germany’s finance minister. “There is not time to wait for elections.”But major obstacles remain and the strong opposition to any plan that would allow American companies to opt out of taxes was palpable.“Clearly, there is a need to avoid any kind of optional solution,” said Bruno LeMaire, the French finance minister. “I do not know of any private company that would choose to be taxed instead of not being taxed.”Mr. Mnuchin tempered expectations that such a complicated deal could be reached so quickly.“We are dealing with some of the most complicated international tax issues,” Mr. Mnuchin said during a panel discussion at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. “In the U.S., depending upon what the solutions are, these may require congressional approval.”Mr. Mnuchin reaffirmed his view that he believed the European digital services taxes were “discriminatory” but said he was committed to the multilateral process underway so that companies could have clarity over taxes in an increasingly digital economy.The Treasury secretary also resisted the suggestion that the United States is proposing to make the tax optional, describing the proposal as a so-called “safe harbor” regime in which companies would agree to pay more in exchange for having more certainty over their tax bills.Failure to reach agreement on either the digital tax or the global minimum tax could scuttle the entire package. Finance ministers from other nations have made clear to Trump administration officials that a large swath of countries will not agree to any deal that allows some large American companies to effectively pick their preferred tax system to minimize their global liability.But the administration faces competing pressure at home, from businesses and lawmakers. Some multinational companies, including many tech giants, are eager for an agreement that would head off the complications of complying with different digital service taxes in a wide range of countries. Other companies fear the agreement would raise their taxes unexpectedly.Any deal might need to be ratified by the Senate, where approval would be difficult in any event, but more so if a large group of powerful corporations oppose it.Still, other countries have pressed the Trump administration to drop its so-called “safe harbor” demands and take a more active role in pushing negotiations toward consensus, starting with the finance ministers meeting this weekend.The tussle over international taxes comes as the global economy is emerging from a year of sluggish growth made worse by uncertainty from Mr. Trump’s trade war with China and the disruption of global supply chains caused by American tariffs. While economists have projected a rebound this year, amid easing trade tension, the coronavirus outbreak in China represents a new variable that threatens to slow output.Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said she currently thinks the virus could have a V-shaped impact on China’s economy, causing a sharp drop in growth followed by a rapid recovery with modest spillover to the rest of the world. But she acknowledged that the trajectory of the virus was not clear.“We recognize that other scenarios could be significantly more impactful,” Ms. Georgieva said at a dinner in Riyadh sponsored by the Institute of International Finance.The I.M.F. on Saturday downgraded its forecast for China’s economic growth this year by 0.4 percentage points to 5.6 percent and reduced its global growth outlook by 0.1 percentage points to 3.2 percent.Tax experts who have been tracking the talks fear the chances of reaching a sweeping agreement by the end of the year are slim given the complex internal politics involved in brokering a deal with so many countries.“The O.E.C.D. process is hanging by a thread and the consequences of failure are underappreciated by European sovereigns,” said Itai Grinberg, an international tax policy professor at Georgetown University Law Center.If the talks do fail and European countries move ahead with their digital taxes, Mr. Grinberg said, the response from the United States would be forceful, particularly if Mr. Trump is re-elected in November.“There is a high risk that the O.E.C.D. process is going to crater and that is what is driving the building bipartisan willingness to consider what the retaliatory measures by the United States would be,” he said.Mr. Mnuchin did offer one option to avert such a fate on Saturday.“If everybody adopts the U.S. proposal, I have 100 percent confidence we’ll get it done,” Mr. Mnuchin said, eliciting some laughter from his counterparts.Alan Rappeport reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Jim Tankersley from Washington. Read the full article

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[scottmapess]

THINGS HAVE CHANGED: The Truth About The 2020 Bitcoin Halving [Major EXCHANGE Sell Pressure] 👀

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

All right. Welcome back, everybody. My name is Austin, with just about two days remaining until Bitcoin’s 3rd, having ever cryptocurrency is making news. We’re talking about a theorem. We’re talking about finance coin. We’re talking about the crypto market. So hit the like button. But first, let’s start with Bitcoin. Every conceivable Bitcoin metric is on fire right now. Let’s start with a big picture. Bitcoin, profitable days around ninety-five point four percent. Meaning no matter when you bought Bitcoin. Ninety-five percent of the time, you are now profitable. Only in these red zones right here, these peaks are we still hoteling. Now, the unfortunate thing, the human nature part of all this is during these peaks, during these foam ups, when the majority of people come into Bitcoin. But the lesson here, if you take one thing away from this, especially if you’re new as a bitcoin or hotel. The lesson here is the hotel. The people that bought at the peak of, let’s say, 2014, had to hold for, what, over two years until they were profitable. If you bought right here today and Bitcoin tanks for the next six months, how long are you willing to hold some to think about? And before we get to a theorem, Bitcoin metrics are popping off. Some we’ve mentioned too, some we haven’t. Let’s look at this as a whole. The number of daily active Bitcoin addresses has grown around 47 percent since the beginning of 2020. For perspective, that’s a growth rate Bitcoin network hasn’t seen since the go-go days of 2017. Now, this means two things. This means that, oh, geez, are maybe diversifying, getting more than one Bitcoin address. This also means that new people are getting their first Bitcoin address, according to Glass Note data. The number of new Bitcoin addresses that have sent their first transaction is nearing half a million. And for perspective, this number just past the May 2017 peak. This week after it, past four hundred and ninety-one hundred thousand. So we are not quite near the December 2017 peak of eight hundred K, but we’re close. Could we be nearing a 2017 run? Nobody knows the future, but these numbers are bullish. OK, so as a subscriber to this channel, as a Bitcoin holder, what’s the point? Well, the point is these metrics are obviously probably popping off because of the fundamental event we’re about to witness. So let’s talk about that. The Bitcoin block reward having. And let me offer you some perspective from Willie Wu. A lot of us always just ask questions about price. What’s the price going to be? Well, I won’t offer you some perspective on cell pressure, which we can use and we can learn to sort of help us understand where the price might be in six months. So post this 20-20, having miners will cease to be the biggest sellers of Bitcoin. It’ll be the dawn of the crypto exchange as the leading seller. Wow. OK. Well, yes, obviously in two days, the miners sell pressure is going to get cut in half. But exchanges interesting. The biggest sell pressure on Bitcoin will soon be from the exchanges selling their BTC fees collected into Fiat. Gonna like this. Support this. Let’s dig deeper. You can think of exchanges as tax agents on traders that tax extracted in fees and BTC gets dumped onto the market and sold for fiat. It’s similar to minors where coins gained by diluting the supply get dumped onto the market. That new demand needs to absorb. And yes, this is something that has changed drastically since pre-2013 and as we’ve seen we saw exchanges in 2017, obviously by Nance. It was just started as barely alive. But now, especially in two thousand twenty exchanges rule the market and they make fees. They make revenue off their fees per day. And to be clear, we’re specifically talking about exchange fees, not specifically traders. This is very different from traders buying or selling. When we say traders are buying or traders are selling, this is a myth because every trade is matched for every buyer. There’s a seller. For every seller, there’s a buyer. It’s pretty even really. When we say the market is buying or selling well, we actually mean it’s smart. Money is buying or selling. But point is, if not individual traders. What is the biggest sell pressure on the Bitcoin price? Well, there’s only two unmatched cell pressures on the market. Miners who dilute the supply and sell on to the market. This is the hidden tax fee, monetary inflation. Right. Miners were very aware of it, too, especially in the modern age. The exchanges who taxed the traders and sell onto the market, for example, with the rise of Big Macs and now strong competing futures exchanges all pushing billions of dollars and daily trade volume. The picture looks like this. Right now, pre having we have about eighteen hundred BTC per day that the miners mine and that’s been dumped into the ecosystem after the having that selling pressure gets cut in half to 900 BTC per day from miners post having but from exchanges, we have around twelve hundred BTC per day in exchange fees. Now, this doesn’t mean that 100 percent are getting converted and sold, just like when we mined eighteen hundred BTC per day for miners. Not all of them are getting sold, but a percentage of them are now. What can you do? Not much. This is just the reality of being a Bitcoin or in 2020. But when I look at the long term price chart of BTC USD from 2017 to today, the rise of the Big Mac-style futures exchanges has made an irrevocable footprint on the price. We have much more sideways action now from the additional cell pressure. So the takeaway is this fundamentally, nothing has changed for Bitcoin timeframe wise, though, we now have extra cell pressure from these exchanges. Again, we didn’t have the first exchanges until 2013. We had minimal exchanges in the years after and in 2020. Man exchanges, in a sense, ruled the market. So maybe the four-year cycle turns into the five-year cycle. Again, fundamentally, nothing has changed. But are you willing to the hotel while futures exchanges bring liquidity to the market, which is good offer useful hedging for legitimate use cases, which is good? They will bring the largest bearish pressure on Bitcoin from here on in. Something to consider the next piece of news consensuses. Ethereal Summit is happening right now. So we’re getting major news from these old coins before by Nance. Let’s check in on a theory. I’m actually from a theory. I’m co-founder Joseph Lubin. Some direct quotes. We will get back to selling a lot of tokens, obviously referring to around 2017 where every company could build their token on a theorem. Now, those are, I suppose, the S.E.C. obviously had a problem with that. The two takeaways that Lubin is conveying to us is if you follow FCC guidelines, you can launch a clean utility token. He told the hosts lubing also hinted at structural changes in his company consensus in the near future. So can you launch utility tokens off of a theory? Usually, they would be security tokens and you’d have to clear them with the S.E.C. But let’s find out. The conversation began with the history of a theorem where Lubin was one of the five co-founders and delved into how consensus has changed, particularly after its recent spate of layoffs. So in the first few years, consensus, we know, drove a lot of the initial coin, offering activity as a way to crowdfunds the projects it was incubating. But that has slowed in 2018 when a regulatory action in this space picked up. Well, the FCC sees crowdfunding to the public with ISO’s as sort of preying on the public. So what exactly is Lubin saying now? Luban said he wants to get back into selling tokens. But in a different vein, it is all about how you sell them and how you market them. Lubing said of token launches, you could sell a utility token and if you do your legal homework. So what is this legal homework that will allow the S.E.C. to accept this? Well, if you ensure you are not selling in huge quantities to speculators and you do certain things based on the guidance from the S.E.C., like basically proving buyers of the token are using it before you open it up for trading, then you’ve got a clean utility token, he said. So it looks like a theorem doesn’t want to lose one of its main use cases, which is the ability to launch other tokens on top of them. Now, in my opinion, it’s never gonna be like the two thousand seventeen days for a theorem simply because we now have major competition. There’s by Nans chain, there’s Edo’s, there are all these theorem killers. And also if investors expect profit in any way if it’s marketed as such, then it has to be declared a security token. So we’ll see Xed piece of news by Nance doesn’t have a headquarters because Bitcoin doesn’t. Again, we’re getting a lot of direct quotes from these project leaders because of consensuses ethereal summit. Happening now to kick off this summit. Unchain podcast host Laura Shen held a cosy fireside chat with. But the big question came when she asked. Where is Biden and where the headquarters then? And this seemingly simple question is actually more complex. Until February, finance was considered to be based in Malta. However, that changed when the island European nation announced that no. Finance is not headquartered here. Finance is not under our jurisdiction. Well, since then, finance has not said just where exactly it is now headquartered. Wherever I guess it is going to be the buying ense office. Wherever I need somebody is going to be the Bynum’s office. Okay, well, for me personally, it doesn’t really matter if he claims he has a headquarters or not. To me, to the regulators, the strictest regulators, maybe like people in the US. I could see that mattering. For example, if he’s not under Multa jurisdiction, what jurisdiction is he under? I think those questions and answers would matter to some of these regulators if he wants to better break into these different markets. You tell me what you think. That’s the video for today. My name is Austin. See you tomorrow.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/truth-about-the-2020-bitcoin-halving-major-exchange/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/05/things-have-changed-truth-about-2020.html

[jeffrmayhugh]

THINGS HAVE CHANGED: The Truth About The 2020 Bitcoin Halving [Major EXCHANGE Sell Pressure] 👀

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

All right. Welcome back, everybody. My name is Austin, with just about two days remaining until Bitcoin’s 3rd, having ever cryptocurrency is making news. We’re talking about a theorem. We’re talking about finance coin. We’re talking about the crypto market. So hit the like button. But first, let’s start with Bitcoin. Every conceivable Bitcoin metric is on fire right now. Let’s start with a big picture. Bitcoin, profitable days around ninety-five point four percent. Meaning no matter when you bought Bitcoin. Ninety-five percent of the time, you are now profitable. Only in these red zones right here, these peaks are we still hoteling. Now, the unfortunate thing, the human nature part of all this is during these peaks, during these foam ups, when the majority of people come into Bitcoin. But the lesson here, if you take one thing away from this, especially if you’re new as a bitcoin or hotel. The lesson here is the hotel. The people that bought at the peak of, let’s say, 2014, had to hold for, what, over two years until they were profitable. If you bought right here today and Bitcoin tanks for the next six months, how long are you willing to hold some to think about? And before we get to a theorem, Bitcoin metrics are popping off. Some we’ve mentioned too, some we haven’t. Let’s look at this as a whole. The number of daily active Bitcoin addresses has grown around 47 percent since the beginning of 2020. For perspective, that’s a growth rate Bitcoin network hasn’t seen since the go-go days of 2017. Now, this means two things. This means that, oh, geez, are maybe diversifying, getting more than one Bitcoin address. This also means that new people are getting their first Bitcoin address, according to Glass Note data. The number of new Bitcoin addresses that have sent their first transaction is nearing half a million. And for perspective, this number just past the May 2017 peak. This week after it, past four hundred and ninety-one hundred thousand. So we are not quite near the December 2017 peak of eight hundred K, but we’re close. Could we be nearing a 2017 run? Nobody knows the future, but these numbers are bullish. OK, so as a subscriber to this channel, as a Bitcoin holder, what’s the point? Well, the point is these metrics are obviously probably popping off because of the fundamental event we’re about to witness. So let’s talk about that. The Bitcoin block reward having. And let me offer you some perspective from Willie Wu. A lot of us always just ask questions about price. What’s the price going to be? Well, I won’t offer you some perspective on cell pressure, which we can use and we can learn to sort of help us understand where the price might be in six months. So post this 20-20, having miners will cease to be the biggest sellers of Bitcoin. It’ll be the dawn of the crypto exchange as the leading seller. Wow. OK. Well, yes, obviously in two days, the miners sell pressure is going to get cut in half. But exchanges interesting. The biggest sell pressure on Bitcoin will soon be from the exchanges selling their BTC fees collected into Fiat. Gonna like this. Support this. Let’s dig deeper. You can think of exchanges as tax agents on traders that tax extracted in fees and BTC gets dumped onto the market and sold for fiat. It’s similar to minors where coins gained by diluting the supply get dumped onto the market. That new demand needs to absorb. And yes, this is something that has changed drastically since pre-2013 and as we’ve seen we saw exchanges in 2017, obviously by Nance. It was just started as barely alive. But now, especially in two thousand twenty exchanges rule the market and they make fees. They make revenue off their fees per day. And to be clear, we’re specifically talking about exchange fees, not specifically traders. This is very different from traders buying or selling. When we say traders are buying or traders are selling, this is a myth because every trade is matched for every buyer. There’s a seller. For every seller, there’s a buyer. It’s pretty even really. When we say the market is buying or selling well, we actually mean it’s smart. Money is buying or selling. But point is, if not individual traders. What is the biggest sell pressure on the Bitcoin price? Well, there’s only two unmatched cell pressures on the market. Miners who dilute the supply and sell on to the market. This is the hidden tax fee, monetary inflation. Right. Miners were very aware of it, too, especially in the modern age. The exchanges who taxed the traders and sell onto the market, for example, with the rise of Big Macs and now strong competing futures exchanges all pushing billions of dollars and daily trade volume. The picture looks like this. Right now, pre having we have about eighteen hundred BTC per day that the miners mine and that’s been dumped into the ecosystem after the having that selling pressure gets cut in half to 900 BTC per day from miners post having but from exchanges, we have around twelve hundred BTC per day in exchange fees. Now, this doesn’t mean that 100 percent are getting converted and sold, just like when we mined eighteen hundred BTC per day for miners. Not all of them are getting sold, but a percentage of them are now. What can you do? Not much. This is just the reality of being a Bitcoin or in 2020. But when I look at the long term price chart of BTC USD from 2017 to today, the rise of the Big Mac-style futures exchanges has made an irrevocable footprint on the price. We have much more sideways action now from the additional cell pressure. So the takeaway is this fundamentally, nothing has changed for Bitcoin timeframe wise, though, we now have extra cell pressure from these exchanges. Again, we didn’t have the first exchanges until 2013. We had minimal exchanges in the years after and in 2020. Man exchanges, in a sense, ruled the market. So maybe the four-year cycle turns into the five-year cycle. Again, fundamentally, nothing has changed. But are you willing to the hotel while futures exchanges bring liquidity to the market, which is good offer useful hedging for legitimate use cases, which is good? They will bring the largest bearish pressure on Bitcoin from here on in. Something to consider the next piece of news consensuses. Ethereal Summit is happening right now. So we’re getting major news from these old coins before by Nance. Let’s check in on a theory. I’m actually from a theory. I’m co-founder Joseph Lubin. Some direct quotes. We will get back to selling a lot of tokens, obviously referring to around 2017 where every company could build their token on a theorem. Now, those are, I suppose, the S.E.C. obviously had a problem with that. The two takeaways that Lubin is conveying to us is if you follow FCC guidelines, you can launch a clean utility token. He told the hosts lubing also hinted at structural changes in his company consensus in the near future. So can you launch utility tokens off of a theory? Usually, they would be security tokens and you’d have to clear them with the S.E.C. But let’s find out. The conversation began with the history of a theorem where Lubin was one of the five co-founders and delved into how consensus has changed, particularly after its recent spate of layoffs. So in the first few years, consensus, we know, drove a lot of the initial coin, offering activity as a way to crowdfunds the projects it was incubating. But that has slowed in 2018 when a regulatory action in this space picked up. Well, the FCC sees crowdfunding to the public with ISO’s as sort of preying on the public. So what exactly is Lubin saying now? Luban said he wants to get back into selling tokens. But in a different vein, it is all about how you sell them and how you market them. Lubing said of token launches, you could sell a utility token and if you do your legal homework. So what is this legal homework that will allow the S.E.C. to accept this? Well, if you ensure you are not selling in huge quantities to speculators and you do certain things based on the guidance from the S.E.C., like basically proving buyers of the token are using it before you open it up for trading, then you’ve got a clean utility token, he said. So it looks like a theorem doesn’t want to lose one of its main use cases, which is the ability to launch other tokens on top of them. Now, in my opinion, it’s never gonna be like the two thousand seventeen days for a theorem simply because we now have major competition. There’s by Nans chain, there’s Edo’s, there are all these theorem killers. And also if investors expect profit in any way if it’s marketed as such, then it has to be declared a security token. So we’ll see Xed piece of news by Nance doesn’t have a headquarters because Bitcoin doesn’t. Again, we’re getting a lot of direct quotes from these project leaders because of consensuses ethereal summit. Happening now to kick off this summit. Unchain podcast host Laura Shen held a cosy fireside chat with. But the big question came when she asked. Where is Biden and where the headquarters then? And this seemingly simple question is actually more complex. Until February, finance was considered to be based in Malta. However, that changed when the island European nation announced that no. Finance is not headquartered here. Finance is not under our jurisdiction. Well, since then, finance has not said just where exactly it is now headquartered. Wherever I guess it is going to be the buying ense office. Wherever I need somebody is going to be the Bynum’s office. Okay, well, for me personally, it doesn’t really matter if he claims he has a headquarters or not. To me, to the regulators, the strictest regulators, maybe like people in the US. I could see that mattering. For example, if he’s not under Multa jurisdiction, what jurisdiction is he under? I think those questions and answers would matter to some of these regulators if he wants to better break into these different markets. You tell me what you think. That’s the video for today. My name is Austin. See you tomorrow.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/truth-about-the-2020-bitcoin-halving-major-exchange/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/617945532451667968